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    In Her Shadow: Acquainted With The Crown
    In Her Shadow: Acquainted With The Crown
    In Her Shadow: Acquainted With The Crown
    Ebook57 pages44 minutes

    In Her Shadow: Acquainted With The Crown

    By Natalie-Nicole Bates

    ()

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    About this ebook

     

    Collette Aubrey lived in the shadow of Anne Boleyn.

    Anne considered Collette a trusted friend and confidant, but she made sure that she and everyone else surrounding them knew that she was far superior to Collette.

    Collette considers herself to be a shadow - a ghost. To never be noticed.

    But what about Collette's aspirations for her own future?

    As Collette is drawn into Anne's plans for power, how far will she allow her loyalty and devotion to be stretched?

    And what happens when the shadow steps out into the light?

     

    This story is a funked-up fairy tale.

    It is a sugary fiction sprinkled with just a drop of truth.

    It's meant to entertain and consider the possibilities.

    This is Collette's story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPaperlate Press
    Release dateOct 19, 2024
    ISBN9798227373342
    In Her Shadow: Acquainted With The Crown
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    Author

    Natalie-Nicole Bates

    Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author. Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia. She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.    

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      Book preview

      In Her Shadow - Natalie-Nicole Bates

      Preface

      Hello Readers,

      Thank you so much for purchasing IN HER SHADOW.

      I want to take a minute to tell you a little about what to expect in this story.

      What it is, and what it is not.

      As the blurb says, IN HER SHADOW is what I call a funked-up fairy tale.

      It’s an almost complete work of fiction, sprinkled with a drop or two of truth about Anne Boleyn and the Tudor court.

      This story is not meant to be about Anne Boleyn as the leading lady.

      This is a story about Collette Aubrey and the time she spent with Anne in both the French and English courts.

      Collette is a beautiful work of fiction. She only exists on these pages in this book.

      I hope you enjoy this little story of mine.

      Happy Reading!

      Natalie-Nicole Bates

      Chapter 1

      Shadows and Whispers

      The sun dipped low over the horizon, casting a golden hue across the sprawling French gardens.

      The air on that lovely day was thick with the scent of blooming roses. The vibrant rose petals were a stark contrast to the darkening sky that signaled the approach of evening.

      It was here, in this realm of beauty, that Collette Aubrey found herself in a dual position of being both captivated by her surroundings and yet simultaneously ensnared. She stood very still and observed as Anne Boleyn flitted from one group of admirers to another.

      Anne, Collette observed silently, was a radiant butterfly amidst a garden of blooming suitors.

      But Collette was beautiful in her own right.

      Her features were delicate and pale as porcelain. Her hair was so fair that it appeared nearly white. Her bright blue eyes and perfectly symmetrical face completed her beauty. She possessed an almost ethereal grace that often went unnoticed by those around her on a daily basis.

      It was the type of beauty that was usually preferred, and even revered, especially by those of the male persuasion.

      In the presence of Anne, she felt like a mere shadow, always lurking just out of sight. Though Collette was French by birth, and Anne was English by birth, their education was similar. Their status in their homelands was nearly identical—both daughters of the nobility. Anne’s mother, Elizabeth Howard, was the daughter of Sir Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, and later, the 2nd Duke of Norfolk, one of the most powerful men in England at that time.

      Her father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, was a well-respected courtier and Earl of Ormond.

      It was said her impressive lineage could be traced all the way back to King Edward I, through both her mother and her father.

      Collette, though, was now an orphan.

      Both of her parents had perished from illness years earlier. But because they were dead didn’t make Collette’s pedigree any less. It was just that time moved on and people forgot those who passed away, and with their deaths, any accomplishments they attained during their lifetime often died along with them.

      Collette! Come here now! Anne’s voice rang out, bright and sweet for certain, but still loud and demanding. It pulled Collette out of her reverie. Anne waved frantically, as if her vocal demand wasn’t quite enough.

      The familiar call from Anne was as intoxicating as it was terrifying.

      Anne had a way of summoning her, as though Collette were a mere extension of her will, to push her away or pull close to her like a puppet on a very long string. Not for the first time, and she was sure it would not be the last time, Collette felt the familiar flutter of anxiety in her chest as she approached.

      Yes? Collette asked, her voice soft, quiet, and a bit

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