Prologue

I n the time known today as the Anarchy, England was torn between two enemies, each claiming a right to the throne. Some of England’s nobles pledged their allegiance to Stephen and declared him king whilst others cast their fate with Empress Matilda, the daughter of Henry I. This unrest placed most of the country into a state of civil war lasting for almost a score of years. Many knights bore the burden of fighting for either side, each determined to win the land for whomever they served.

Amongst such knights were three brothers and another knight who was the brother of their heart. These four swore to defend the Empress Matilda and her rightful claim to England’s crown. The Norwood brothers were close in age. Wymar was the eldest and jumped at the chance to swear his oath of fealty to the Empress after their parents were killed in Stephen’s raid on Brockenhurst Castle. Ousted from the only home he had known six years ago, Wymar plunged himself and his brothers into war all in the hopes that when the Empress was crowned queen, she would reward his loyalty with the return of his lands and his title.

Theobald was next and the peacekeeper amongst them. He was used to following his eldest brother, no matter that he would prefer to sit in front of a fire to rest his weary feet with a mug of ale in his hand. Reynard, the youngest, was always attempting to prove his worth even when the odds were stacked against him. He was more like his eldest brother than he would ever admit, even to himself. And Richard, the brother of their heart, fought beside them all.

The four of them swore to remain together as a family as they had no one else on whom they could rely. But things changed as the war progressed. The first change was when Brockenhurst and Wymar’s title were restored. Wymar had wed, as had Theobald, both of them settled happily in loving marriages, holding estates in the Empress’s name. Reynard, too, had married, but he and his wife, Elysande, still served their Empress. This left Richard to continue to follow the Empress until he, too, was released from his service. His sister Beatrix was also residing at court, and he cursed the day he had been tasked with her care. If he did not find her a husband soon, he feared she would come to ruin.

There is a beginning, a middle, and an end for each tale of the knights of the Anarchy. This is Richard’s story…