Book Title: What Love E’er Meant
Series: Regina (Book #2)
Author Name: Janet Wertman
Publication Date: September 7, 2026
Publisher: Janet Wertman
Pages: 432
Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction
A new queen must prove she deserves the throne God gave her, while the path everyone insists will secure it might cost her everything
Against all odds, Elizabeth Tudor has become Queen of England. Determined to fulfill what she sees as a divine responsibility, she sets out to heal a country ravaged by religious discord, war, and debt – and vindicate the legacy of Anne Boleyn, the mother who did not deserve her fate.
But Elizabeth’s crown is not fully secure: to the Catholic world, her cousin Mary Stuart is the rightful Queen of England and there are rumblings to put her there. Shoring up defenses requires that Elizabeth challenge France’s control of Scotland and Spain’s dominance on the seas, as well as calm internal strife. Above the din of menace, one question dominates all others: who will she marry?
William Cecil, her trusted Secretary of State, urges her to secure an alliance through a strategic match. Robert Dudley, the love of her life, pressures her to choose him. And Mary herself presents a cautionary tale. In the end, Elizabeth chooses not as a woman but as a queen, and learns the sobering truth of sovereignty: to rule is to stand alone.
What Love E’er Meant, the searing second volume in the Regina Trilogy, captures a young queen’s struggle to balance love and power, duty and desire…and the profound cost of choosing crown over heart.
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Janet Wertman’s critically acclaimed, character-driven historical novels reflect a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she stayed up late at age eight to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.
Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series (Nothing Proved and What Love E’er Meant out now, Forever Gloriana to come) explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon.
She shares interesting takes on the Tudors at www.janetwertman.com and her YouTube channel @TooMuchTudor.
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| read an excerpt |
Excerpt 4:
August 8, 1561
Exhilarated
after a successful hunt that presaged more successes, Elizabeth was happy to
let a small amount of business interrupt her Summer Progress. She had agreed to
receive the Scottish Ambassador, William Maitland of Lethington, at Henham
Hall. With the hunting lodge limiting her company to two hundred, an invitation
showed clear royal favor.
She smiled
as she gave him her hand to kiss. Although a bit dour, Maitland was a decent
wit. A good choice on the part of the Scottish Lords.
“Greetings,
Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed. “I bring you the goodwill of all Scotland.”
“Which is
returned by English friends,” she said as she waved a hand to indicate the
people crowded around her chair of estate, “in a good mood from our leisure.”
“The
rarest moments of all,” Maitland said. “Again, thank you.”
“You are
always welcome,” she said. “Especially if you come to tell me your Queen has
finally ratified the Treaty of Edinburgh.” Surely that was why he rushed to
join the progress.
Maitland
bowed again. “Alas, Your Majesty, my queen requires some clarifications before
she does so.”
The air
thickened. Elizabeth clenched her fists, ready to quash this conversation
before it ruined the day. “The terms were agreed more than a year ago. And they
are quite simple.”
He raised
his hands. “My mistress is quite happy to give up her claim to the English
throne during Your Majesty’s lifetime. But she wishes to make it clear that she
will inherit it afterwards.”
Mary wanted to be named successor. The one thing Elizabeth was not
willing to do for anyone, and certainly not for Mary Stuart.
“The
treaty has no bearing on the English succession. Again, I must insist she
ratify the terms that were negotiated for her.”
“The
treaty forbids my queen from ever asserting her claim. Your Majesty’s youth
makes it too easy to forget that my queen is nine years younger than you and—”
“And so
you would put me in a winding cloth before my time?” Elizabeth’s eyes flashed a
warning. “If I had known that was the purpose of your visit today, I would have
refused to see you. You forget I know what it is like to live as heir apparent.
I know what danger my very existence presented to my sister during her reign.
When the time is right, we may have this discussion, but I am not prepared to
have it now. Nor do I need to. She is legally obligated to ratify the treaty.”
Maitland’s
face did not lose its shifty smile. “Before she does, she wishes to confer with
her Lords in Scotland. This is what I came to tell—”
“The
Scottish Lords are the ones who negotiated the treaty in the first place. Their
counsel has already been given.”
“Ah, but not yet to her. As I started to say,
she will be back in Scotland quite soon, and they will be able to reassure her
on all the points. It is but a small delay.”
She will be back in Scotland. Elizabeth could not suppress a
glance at Cecil. Neither of them had believed Mary Stuart would return to a
land she could not remember and would not enjoy. “She plans to leave France?
Abandon the Continent?”
“Yes,
within the month.”
“I thought
there were marriage proposals being negotiated,” Elizabeth said.
“There
are. But my queen is eager to see the land of her birth, the land of her blood.
It is important for rulers to know their people.”
Elizabeth
felt crowded by the idea of the Scottish Queen sharing England’s island. For
the first time Elizabeth understood England’s northerners, always fearful of a
Scottish invasion. “As long as she keeps herself to her side of our border, we
will get along well,” she said.
“With one
small exception,” Maitland said. “She hopes you will allow her to pass through
England for her journey home. It will be much easier for her to go by land as
much as possible.”
“While she
still claims this land as her own, my answer is no,” Elizabeth said. She heard
snorts, and knew it was people covering up sharp intakes of breath. Yes, yes, a
refusal was petty, but it was well deserved. Elizabeth would be foolish to give
any quarter to a usurper.
Maitland
recovered quickly and adopted a sarcastic tone. “Does Your Majesty intend to
use duress to keep a widow away from her home? Must she worry about being
intercepted en route by English
ships?”
Elizabeth
could not bring herself to relent. Mary refused to renounce her claim. No
matter that the treaty’s provisions had been negotiated by men who did not
represent her interests – they had represented the interests of Scotland, and
that should have been enough to bind Mary.
Would you let it bind you? Elizabeth’s inner voice asked. She
ignored it. She was angry and resentful, and if she sounded like a child, so be
it. She could do as she chose, even if her choice had few teeth. Elizabeth
would never actually interfere with Mary’s voyage, but she had no need to make
it pleasant. Let Mary take the sea route directly to Leith, where the rough
waters would cause her to vomit over the rails. Let that hint at her new life.
“Will you
insult France as well?” Maitland continued. “The Scottish Queen will be
escorted by the Grand Prior and the Constable of France. Your refusal also runs
to them.”
Maitland’s
raised nose and triumphant smile made it clear he thought to have bested
Elizabeth, but the foolish man had only opened a door. The Constable, Anne de
Montmorency, hated the Guises as much as Catherine de Medici did. This was
Elizabeth’s chance to court the new power in France, and the insight
resurrected all the pleasures of the hunt. “France has signed the treaty
renouncing any claim to my land,” she said with a smile. “Their representatives
are welcome to return through England. We would love to receive them at
Greenwich.” At Maitland’s shocked look, she patted his arm. “But we will tender
the invitation ourselves.”
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