Wintercombe Series by Pamela Belle

Historical fiction set during the English Civil War between the Royalists of Charles I and the Roundheads of Oliver Cromwell. Civil war has raged across England for two years while a beautiful Puritan lady guards her husband’s ancestral home, Wintercombe. When enemy troops invade the house and a maniacal Lieutenant terrorizes the family, Silence St. Barbe begins a hopeless love affair with the Royalist captain who defends her honor and protects her children.

The second of the "Wintercombe" trilogy, continuing the story of the St Barbe family of Somerset. When Sir George dies, his wife Silence holds on to the hope that she will be reunited with her love, Captain Nick Hellier, but the Cavalier Captain has enlisted in the army of young Charles II.

After years of shameful exile in Holland, Sir Alexander St Barbe is back in Somerset to claim Wintercombe as his inheritance. Bitter quarrels break out on the night of his arrival - and soon the old fires of family passions and religious contention are raging. Even Alex's aunt Silence Hellier, herself once mistress of Wintercombe, cannot smooth over the ensuing rifts... moreAfter years of shameful exile in Holland, Sir Alexander St Barbe is back in Somerset to claim Wintercombe as his inheritance. Bitter quarrels break out on the night of his arrival - and soon the old fires of family passions and religious contention are raging. Even Alex's aunt Silence Hellier, herself once mistress of Wintercombe, cannot smooth over the ensuing rifts. And she is one of the first to see trouble in the instant frisson between the libertine alex and his young and fiery half-French cousin Louise ... Outside forces play an increasingly turbulent part in all their lives as the Duke of Monmouth returns to England to claim the crown and raise rebellion - bringing disaster and tragedy to Somerset, and the St. Barbe family. less

Summer 1686. Wintercombe. Louise and Alex mourn the death of their baby son. In the aftermath of tragedy, grief and guilt cast their once happy marriage onto rocks. Louise sinks into depression and Alex seeks comfort in the arms of another woman. Then Alex does the unthinkable and Louise can no longer bear the sight of him... moreSummer 1686. Wintercombe. Louise and Alex mourn the death of their baby son. In the aftermath of tragedy, grief and guilt cast their once happy marriage onto rocks. Louise sinks into depression and Alex seeks comfort in the arms of another woman. Then Alex does the unthinkable and Louise can no longer bear the sight of him. Alex finds refuge and revolutionary intrigue in Holland while his cousin Charles, long desirous of Louise and the family home, returns from exile, intent on fulfilling his ambition at last: to be master of Wintercombe. All affairs of the heart, however, are caught up in a larger swirl of events as James II is about to be dethroned and as anti-Catholic, nationalist sentiment swells--a movement clandestinely aided by Alexander and a courtier who proposes to Alexander’s plain-looking and plain-spoken spinster sister Phoebe. The final installment of the Wintercombe saga. Praise for Treason’s Gift ‘An outstanding historical novelist, Belle now adds another volume to her impressively researched and crafted series set during the English Civil Wars.’ – Publishers Weekly ‘A richly detailed and delightful family chronicle, quickening into an unputdownable adventure story’ – Rosemary Sutcliff ‘A restful cruise for the St. Barbe faithful and period-romance insatiables.’ – Kirkus Reviews ‘A gifted storyteller…who can conjure up a period of history so that we can smell, hear and see it’ – Sarah Harrison, author of The Flowers of the Field Pamela Belle was born and bred in Suffolk, the daughter of a local prep school headmaster. She went to the University of Sussex, and went on to become a primary school teacher. She is the author of seven previous novels including the Wintercombe series and the Moon in the Water series. less