Summary

In Part 1, Chapter 1, 17-year-old Marie arrives at an abbey in England in the year 1158. She feels distressed at the abbey's gloomy appearance. Two days prior, in Westminster, Queen Eleanor had visited Marie with her entourage. She told Marie she would be leaving court to go to the abbey, which was in a state of crisis, with famine and disease running rampant. Marie was upset, as she was not particularly religious, and she was also in love with Eleanor and did not wish to be separated from her. Prior to coming to Eleanor's court, Marie had lived in Le Main, France, with her mother. When her mother died, Marie ran her estate for two years before anyone discovered the lady of the manor was dead. Cecily, Marie's servant and companion since childhood (with whom she has a sexual relationship), told Marie she would...