Page 9 of The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past #4)

SEVEN

Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland

Quinn pulled her hand away from the sword and leaned back in the chair.

The Wars of the Roses had never been one of her favorite historical periods.

The series of bloody conflicts that had claimed thousands of lives wasn’t an uprising against tyranny or a defensive stance to protect England’s sovereign borders; it was an endless struggle between vain, power-hungry individuals who were too fixated on the ultimate prize to do what was best for the country and the people they claimed to love.

The conflict between the House of York and the House of Lancaster had spawned the sort of treachery one would only expect to find in a novel, with some of the main players changing sides more than once and sacrificing their loved ones for the promise of the throne.

The Wars of the Roses were the original game of thrones, and few of the players walked away unscathed, or walked away at all.

Many historians argued that the conflict was spurred by Henry VI’s mental instability and inability to rule, but there were others who believed that the wars were caused by the very structure of the feudal system, sometimes referred to as Bastard Feudalism, which forced the gentry to support their liege lord rather than their king, and take up arms in support of whichever contender their liege backed at the time.

The liege lords didn’t have standing armies.

They called on their retainers when they required military support.

Some of the more powerful lords could raise a small army that consisted not only of knights, but of all vassals, who had no choice but to answer the summons of their overlord.

Quinn glanced at the beautiful sword. She knew that Gabe came from a distinguished family, but she hadn’t realized the de Rosels had been titled once.

Only sons of noble families, those not destined for the Church, had gone on to become squires and knights, and only wealthy families could afford the cost of armor, weapons, and destriers required for knighthood.

Quinn was actually surprised that none of the three brothers had taken Holy Orders, but perhaps William de Rosel, who’d become Baron de Rosel upon his father’s death, had decided to keep his brothers together after the loss of their parents.

Quinn reached for the bag containing the rosary.

Perhaps it had once belonged to Lady de Rosel and had been buried with Guy de Rosel for protection, given that he hadn’t received a Christian burial.

Why would a warrior not be buried in consecrated ground?

There were only a few reasons a person in the Middle Ages would be denied a Christian burial, the most common being suicide. Had Guy killed himself?

Quinn opened the bag and allowed the shiny beads to spill into her palm. Perhaps the rosary would tell her.