The Lord’s Wife’s Notebook

To preserve her family's honor and glory, Ashley married Lorenzo de' Medici, the unseen Lord of Florence.

But when she entered this unexpected marriage, Ashley found not the loving harmony she'd imagined, but a husband too busy with official duties to be anything more than politely courteous to her.

Two months into their marriage, Ashley and Lorenzo had still met only a handful of times.

The widespread rumors circulating outside their home made their already shaky marriage seem even more precarious.

That night, for the sake of her tottering family, Ashley gathered her courage, took a cup of hot milk, and knocked on Lorenzo's door.

"I fell in love with you earlier than you think."

1. A gentle, reserved lord x an innocent, vivacious heiress

2. Marriage first, love later; mutual devotion; happy ending

3. An alternate-history Renaissance setting, no historical research intended

Theme: Wisdom is eternal