The Orange Grove by Kate Murdoch
Blois, 1705. The chateau of Duc Hugo dAmboise simmers with rivalry and intrigue. Henriette dAugustin, one of five mistresses of the duc, lives at the chateau with her daughter. When the ducs wife, Duchesse Charlotte, maliciously undermines a new mistress, Letitia, Henriette is forced to choose between position and morality. She fights to maintain her status whilst targeted by the duchesse who will do anything to harm her enemies. The arrival of charismatic tarot reader, Romain de Villiers, further escalates tensions as rivals in love and domestic politics strive for supremacy.In a society where status is a matter of life and death, Henriette must stay true to herself, her daughter, and her heart, all the while hiding a painful secret of her own.