CHAPTER ONE
Lexi glared at the illuminated manuscript, desperate to slam the cover shut. The bright lighting of the rare books room was giving her a headache, and her thin sweater wasn’t doing much against the temperature-controlled chill of the area.
After nine months of research, she was getting less than nowhere discovering information about Alexandra, the sixteenth-century—and extremely mysterious—foreign queen of Durham. In less than a month, she was supposed to turn in a comprehensive outline for her dissertation, and she had nothing.
But Lexi didn’t slam the book shut, because this manuscript was more than four hundred years old. Instead, she slid a hand between the heavy cover and the foam wedge supporting it—allowing the book to lie flat could damage the spine—and very carefully closed the volume. Then she lifted a gloved hand, signaling to a passing librarian.
The gray-haired matron adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses, pushing a cart toward Lexi. She’d become pretty good friends with Betty over the past nine months. At this point, Lexi should change her mailing address to the rare books room. She certainly spent more time here than at home.
“Are you done, dear?” Betty asked.
“Yes.” Lexi stripped off the thin white gloves that felt like a second skin. The soft fabric protected the books from the natural oils in her fingers, as well as from any dirt or moisture, and were a necessity when working with such delicate and priceless artifacts.
Betty leaned against the cart, adjusting her glasses. “Did you find what you were looking for yet?”
Lexi shook her head, swallowing back the worry that clawed at her throat. “Just an obscure passage referencing the queen’s peculiarities, all of which were attributed to her status as a foreigner.”
Not that historians had ever been able to definitively agree on just what country Alexandra hailed from. Surely a record had existed at some point, but the information had probably been lost in the fire of 1589, when the castle library had burned just a few years before the queen’s death.
Lexi should have listened to her academic adviser and picked an easier topic to research for her dissertation. Maybe Alexandra’s husband, King Richard, or perhaps the political tensions between Durham and Galia during the time period. Richard had been betrothed to the Galian princess at one point, but pirates had attacked her ship and she’d drowned at sea.
Betty slipped a pair of white gloves from her apron pocket. “I’m sure you’ll find something soon. No other graduate student spends as much time here as you.”
That was because all the other Ph.D candidates had been smart enough to pick easier topics. Lexi chewed on her lip, her mistakes making her ill. She should have been honest with her adviser instead of hiding how little progress she’d made. The older woman had nearly not approved the topic, but Lexi had badgered her into it. She felt a connection to Queen Alexandra that she couldn’t quite explain. Something about the woman had intrigued her ever since she first heard the name.
“Can I get you anything else today, dear?” Betty asked. The volume was nestled in its box on the cart, the lid tightly closed.
Lexi swallowed hard, fighting to keep her fear from showing. “No, thank you.”
If her proposal wasn’t approved, she’d be out of the program. Her academic adviser wouldn’t give Lexi a second chance—not when she’d discouraged the topic from the very beginning. And that would put an end to Lexi’s aspirations of one day teaching at the university.
Betty paused, her hand on the metal cart. “Try to have some fun this weekend, okay, dear? It’s Saturday. You should be sleeping in, not cooped up in this dusty old library.”
That made Lexi smile. The special collections room was spotless, as dust and dirt could damage the manuscripts. “I’m actually heading out to meet some friends right now. I’ll be back in a few days to look at some other texts.”
She’d need those few days to do more research. At this point, Lexi wasn’t even sure which manuscript to request next. She’d poured over all of them. Details were scarce about King Richard’s life after he claimed the crown, but almost nonexistent about Queen Alexandra.
Lexi grabbed her backpack and headed out of the chilly library basement. The ground floor was much busier, filled with undergrads studying at tables. Summer semester had started a few days earlier, and everyone was spending their Saturday morning slogging through the first week of homework. Past experience told Lexi that the crowds would die down in another week or two—at least until midterms, when panic set in again.
She headed for her car, not wanting to be late for book club. It was the one social indulgence she’d allowed herself since Gran’s death the month before she started her undergraduate program.
The early summer heat warmed Lexi’s skin, and she knew they were in for a sweltering summer. Palm trees framed the parking lot, and she quickly looked away when she saw a couple kissing on a bench underneath one of them.
Maybe, if she presented a strong enough proposal on the Durham and Galian pirate attacks in the sixteenth century, her adviser would allow the switch. Lexi could work on the outline this weekend even. The attacks had plagued Richard’s early days as king, until the instigator had been found and banished, and so Lexi had quite a bit of information on that already. It wouldn’t be the same as writing about Queen Alexandra, but at least she’d have a shot at earning her Ph.D.
Lexi drove on autopilot to the small bookstore where they held their biweekly meetings, her mind consumed by the mystery of Queen Alexandra. She felt like she had all the pieces of a puzzle, but couldn’t quite fit them together correctly. And why did she care so much about this queen that most every other historian ignored?
Because Gran cared, she reminded herself. Car horns beeped loudly as they fought the typical Southern California traffic, but Lexi was lost in the past now. She didn’t remember her parents—they’d died in a car crash when she was only four years old. Growing up, it had always been just Lexi and Gran. The older woman had a deep fascination with history, and they’d spent many pleasant Friday nights eating homemade ice cream and debating the mysteries of the ancient world. Queen Alexandra had been a favorite topic of conversation for them since Lexi shared the queen’s name, although she’d always gone by her nickname.
Tears pooled in her eyes, and Lexi quickly blinked them back. She couldn’t give up on Queen Alexandra. Not yet. She still had a month of research left. If she couldn’t finish her detailed outline by then, Lexi would beg her adviser for an extension. Maybe even a topic change.
Lexi arrived at the bookstore a few minutes early. It was a quaint Victorian with red brick and gingerbread trim, and she instantly felt better just being here.
The old floors, an original to the building, creaked as she smiled at the girl working the front counter and headed toward the back of the store. Chatter filtered down the hallway, and Lexi found the small room where they met already half-filled with people.
She made her way to where Juliette, easily her closest friend in the group, already sat at the table. No doubt she’d read ten books since they last saw each other two weeks ago. Lexi thought longingly of the abandoned pile of historical romances stacked on her wobbly bedside table. She barely remembered what it was like to read for pleasure anymore.
Lexi slid into the chair next to Juliette’s with a heavy sigh.
“Bad day at school?” Juliette asked, flipping her shoulder-length blonde hair over one shoulder. She was a student too, and school woes were part of what Lexi and Juliette had bonded over.
“Just another dead end on my research.” Lexi drew her brows together in a scowl. Curse that stupid fire of 1589. Every time she thought of the information lost to that inferno, she felt sick. Alexandra had been a living, breathing person. She’d loved, and lost, and ruled a country.
And no one knew anything about her.
“I’m running out of time,” Lexi said. “How am I supposed to write a five hundred page dissertation on Queen Alexandra of Durham when I barely have a file folder’s worth of research?”
177 Pages
3-4 Hours
33k Words
