title: Shadow of the Protector
author: Lord, Elizabeth
description: King Charles I is dead, beheaded by Oliver Cromwell at the end of January 1649.  Cromwell's wife and daughters are keeping vigil at home, but the youngest daughter Frances, unable to concentrate on her bible, is sent to her room.  Late that night a messenger arrives, and as Frances secretly watches the handsome young trooper she feels sexual stirrings that disturb and alarm her. As Frances's adolescence begins and she becomes aware of her sensual spirit, she meets one of her father's young and particularly handsome chaplains, with disastrous results...