Family

In a house full of whispers, the deadliest enemy may already have a key. 

Still grieving her father’s murder, Elizabeth Bowmar—“the tall midwife with ice-blue eyes that helps those in need”—is trying to make peace with her new life as the ward of her godfather, Edmund Colskill, the King’s Goldsmith. His home in 1619 London offers warmth, good food, and a measure of safety—but it also comes with unspoken rules and a web of courtly expectations that clash with the freedom she once knew as the daughter of a tailor and draper. Fiercely loyal to her father’s wish to see her married, Edmund is determined to reshape her into a more “suitable” match, while Elizabeth wants nothing to do with marriage at all.

What begins as ink on paper demanding Edmund “pay” soon escalates into staged “accidents” and carefully timed threats. The anonymous demands grow sharper and more personal. Edmund insists on discretion; the rooms that once felt like refuge begin to feel like a trap. Afraid of losing Edmund—and of the guilt and grief that loss would bring if she did nothing—Elizabeth resolves to stop the extortionist herself.

Her search drags her into the gray spaces between loyalty and truth, and into questions about the past she isn’t sure she’s ready to have answered. Yet even as the danger sharpens, there are glimmers of unexpected grace. Sir Marc Middleton—a nobleman marked by the long-standing grief over the loss of his wife—proves both steady and quietly amused by her persistence. He listens and treats her insights as strengths rather than inconveniences. In a life suddenly full of shadows, their moments of shared laughter and quiet understanding are a reminder that seeds once planted still grow in the dark. 

Family weaves a tale of faith, mystery, and resilience in 1619 London, where the bonds that protect also conceal—and one woman’s fight for independence is as timeless as the streets she walks.