‘I can’t breathe properly, Mus,’ she protested, and pulled away from him. Not giving him a chance to respond, she forked two fingers and jabbed forward, throwing all her weight into the action and aiming straight for his eyes. As he howled in protest, she jerked up her knee and rammed him straight in the groin. For good measure, she then stamped down hard on his toes.
With her life under threat from lord Robert, Janna seeks refuge at Wiltune Abbey, where she must live the life of a nun. Janna is surprised to be accepted there by most of the other sisters, and makes friends with another lay sister, Agnes. She is assigned to work in the infirmary where she expands on the skills she has already learnt from her mother, and helps Sister Anne, the infirmarian, in caring for the sick and injured.
But nothing must distract Janna from her true mission – she wants to learn to read while she’s in the abbey, so that she continue her search for her father and seek justice for her mother, who was murdered by the lord Robert..
Lilies for Love is the third book in the Janna Mysteries series, and sees the feisty Janna solve more mysteries, some related to her ongoing quest and others – such as the disappearance of pages of precious manuscript – side issues, yet intriguing. Set against the backdrop of civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda over the mediaeval English throne, Lilies for love is an intriguing read.
Lilies for Love, by Felicity Pulman
Random House, 2006
This book can be purchased online at Fishpond.