Amanda Scott (51 page)

Dear Reader
,

I hope you enjoyed
Lady’s Choice
. Before discussing historical points in the book that might interest you, I am obliged to correct a slight error that Sir Michael St. Clair (certainly not the author) made in
Prince of Danger
with regard to what his title would be after his brother became Earl of Orkney.

Had Henry been acknowledged as Prince of Orkney in Scotland, Michael might have held a courtesy title as Lord Michael. But as
Prince of Danger
made clear, Henry was “only” Earl of Orkney in Scotland. His son later took the title of the barony (of Roslin) and would have been Lord Sinclair, but even as Henry’s heir, Michael would still have been Sir Michael, not Lord Michael. I don’t know what he could have been thinking, but I can assure you, he’s sorry!

I should perhaps also clarify a point for those of you who believe first births always take much longer than Isobel’s did. Not so. The author endured only an hour and twenty-seven minutes of labor, from first contraction to squalling child, when her son was born in Omaha. Only made it to the hospital because a huge blizzard was fast approaching and four babies had been delivered by their own fathers, who had received instructions over the phone, during a previous one just a few weeks before.

As to the paper on which Isobel wrote her letters and Adela her message to Sorcha, some may question its availability. It is true that paper was rare in Britain before the mid fifteenth century, but it was available in Italy, France, and other places to which the Sinclairs and people of the Isles and western Highlands had access. The
Chinese invented it in the second century
A.D.
(105), and it came west by way of Baghdad in the eighth century. It was available in Italy nearly a hundred years before this story takes place.

With regard to Adela’s behavior as Waldron’s hostage, many of you may recognize symptoms of the Stockholm Syndrome. Although not defined until the twentieth century, the effects of this syndrome have affected people since the dawn of time—not just hostages of criminals and other terrorists but also battered and abused children and spouses.

For those of you who, like the author, collect trivia, according to the
Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland
, Glenelg is “said to be” the only seven-letter palindrome in Highland topography. Glenelg village is wonderfully remote and scenic. Of particular interest to the author was a tombstone in the village kirkyard that exactly fits the description of Templar tombstones with skull and crossbones. That discovery and her love for Glenelg did much to determine the location of fictional Chalamine Castle.

Waldron of Edgelaw’s beliefs derive from those of the Assassins’ cult during the Crusades, as well as beliefs held by the Knights Templar and other Crusaders. The Templars and the Assassins had numerous known connections to each other, and the Crusaders’ belief in divine protection for any deed performed by a soldier of Christ was echoed (perhaps even inspired) by the Assassins’ belief that a soldier serving the Almighty would be forgiven anything he did, including torture and murder, as long as the man believed he had done it in holy service.

The notion of numerous virgins as heavenly rewards for such men derives solely from ancient Assassin beliefs
and survives to this day in some extreme religious factions. Waldron’s notion that God sent a message of celibacy to him through Isobel’s victory on the ramparts of Roslin Castle (
Prince of Danger
) is, however, Waldron’s personal interpretation of what happened to him.

Details for the installation of Donald as second Lord of the Isles are from
House of Islay
by Donald Grumach (Argyll, 1967) and from
The Clan Donald
by the Reverend A. MacDonald (Inverness, 1896).

Details for the ceremony Sorcha observed in the cavern are derived from “Knights Templars,”
Richardson’s Monitor of Free-Masonry
, by Jabez Richardson (New York, 1993, pp.
109
-
23
).

As mentioned in
Prince of Danger
, questions exist about exactly when all the tunnels at Roslin were dug. Many were created when William Sinclair, fourth Earl of Orkney, built his famous Rosslyn Chapel in the sixteenth century. However, Prince Henry is known to have initiated a good deal of construction at Roslin Castle.

The nearby Wallace’s Cave, named for William Wallace, who may have taken refuge there, was also known long before the fourth earl.

For more about the Templar treasure, I suggest once again the following sources:
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
, by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh (New York, 1982);
The Temple and the Lodge
, by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh (New York, 1989);
Pirates & the Lost Templar Fleet
, by David H. Childress (Illinois, 2003);
The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel
, by Philip Coppens (Netherlands, 2004);
The Da Vinci Code Decoded
, by Martin Lunn (New York, 2004); and
The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar
, by Steven Sora (Vermont, 1999).
For more about the Assassins, see
The Assassins
, by Bernard Lewis (London, 1967).

Thanks again to Donal Sean MacRae and Alasdair White for their continued willingness to share their extraordinary expertise.

As always, I’d also like to thank my terrific agents, Lucy Childs and Aaron Priest, as well as Beth de Guzman, vice president and editor in chief of Warner Books, and the world’s most exciting editor, Devi Pillai.

I could not do what I do without every one of them!

Nor could I do it without all of you who read my books and provide me with constant commentary on them. Thank you all, once again, for your continued, faithful support. Your letters, comments, and observations continue to inspire me, not just in my writing, but in all that I do.

If you enjoyed
Lady’s Choice
, please look for
Knight’s Treasure
, the story of what fate has in store when Adela Macleod marries Lord Ardelve. It will be at your favorite bookstore in February 2007. In the meantime,
Suas Alba
!

Sincerely,

http://home.att.net/~amandascott