A Once and Future Love
A
Once and Future Love by Anne Kelleher is part of the Time Passages series
published by Penguin Putnam.
In modern England Richard Lambert was exploring his ancestral home. The trip had been one he planned to take with his wife before her untimely death.
As he climbs the tower his thoughts drift to his wife and when he takes a tumble down the steps of the tower he finds himself with a second chance at happiness.
Inhabiting the body of his brutal ancestor Richard de Lambert he finds himself trapped in the year 1214 married to Eleanor, a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to his beloved Lucy. However unlike Lucy, Eleanor has no liking for her husband at all and his first glimpse of her shows just how much she despises him - her intention to smother him as he lies wounded cannot be mistaken even in his confusion.
Unable to understand the language of the people he is now with Richard uses his wounds as an excuse to rest and study the language so that he can communicate with the people that are now part of his household.
Soon Eleanor realises that her husband had undergone a dramatic change for the better and she delights in their newly discovered love.
However all is not well with their neighbours and Richard finds that he must fight to keep his lands and his wife, and to do this there must be no doubt as to who he is.
Eleanor does not know what has happened to her husband. She only knows that the violent brute she married now actually cares for her and her brother Hugh. With her new husband her confidence begins to rise and she comes into her own. From the scared and terrified girl, she becomes a woman capable of courage and bravery. And against their neighbour Giscard Fitzwilliam she will need plenty of both.
Giscard has long since coveted Barland Castle and the mistress of it. When knowledge comes his way that Richard de Lambert may not be all that he seems he wastes no time in having him arrested and charged with being possessed with demons.
It is then that Richard must make the decision whether to share the truth with Eleanor or to risk losing everything, even his life without her ever knowing who he is.
A touching novel of second chances set against the background of the treacherous 13th century. I particularly liked the way that Richard had to go about learning the language of the time he had travelled to; so many novels gloss over the fact that a different language is spoken in the time that the hero or heroine travel to.
A nice little novel, but perhaps a little to short for my tastes. I felt that more could have been explored, such as in Hugh's captivity in Wales. This period of time was touched on very little. While I agree that it could detract from the main story I believe that there could have been more said about this without infringing on the main plot. Sometimes I feel that more could be said about certain sub-plots and secondary characters than was, this is one of those times.
However the main plot certainly is well thought out and captivating
enough for anyone who likes time travels set in medieval England.
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Also by Anne Kelleher: The Ghost and Katie
Coyle and Love's Labyrinth