The Lord Steward and the Servant King (Verduran Pentology Book 2)

When your friend becomes your enemy, how can you make him a friend again? How can you get into a fortress that has never been taken? When things are not what they seem, how can you discover what they really are?Kentucky. Now it’s 1838. Steven and Amanda have not been able to get back into Verdura for two years, no matter what they’ve done. They don’t know if promises made there have come true or if something terrible has happened.But things have changed in Kentucky. Amanda’s grown older and her father wants her to marry a young man who’s a cruel bully. Daddy thinks she’ll change him. Huh! She wants nothing to do with him. But her father’s insistent. Plus, Amanda has no idea what’s happened to Joshua and Marie. Letters from them stopped coming some time ago.And then there’s that peculiar ‘amusement’ someone is putting on in downtown Glasgow, Kentucky, a weird phenomenon hyped by a creepy mustachioed tinker who doesn’t have any pots or pans to sell.Join Joshua, Marie, Amanda and Steven in their second Verduran adventure. Yeah. This one could also be fatal. Or worse.An excerpt from The Lord Steward and the Servant King“Now that the stage road had been built, it usually took about forty minutes to get to the cave from Bell’s. The boy looked at the rock from time to time as they bounced along. Then he looked at Steven, who had become a kind of celebrity among the slaves. Steven was not paying any particular attention to him, being more concerned with driving the gig. Finally, the boy could hold out no longer.“What this all about?” he blurted. Steven gazed steadily at him for a moment and decided he could trust him.“‘Bout two year ago, Missy Amanda an’ me be in the cave. See, we foun’ this way in no one know ‘bout, an’ we gits into this other place an’ lots o’things happen there.”The boy’s eyes grew large.“What your name, anyhow?” asked Steven.“Harry,” the boy replied.“You won’ tell no one?”“No suh, Mistuh Steven,” said Harry.“Steven,” said Steven. He looked at the boy and then at the rock. “This be Rhodoc. He alive.”The boy looked at the rock in alarm and moved as far away from it as he could on the narrow seat.“Won’ hurt you none,” said Steven.“H-how do it talk?” asked Harry.“You jes’ tells it it cin talk to ya, an’ it do, kinda inside your head like. You want it should talk to ya?”“Well,” said Harry, eyeing it suspiciously.“You jes’ tells it inside your head.”A moment later, Harry clapped his hands over his ears and shouted, “Make it stop! Make it stop!” There was terror in his voice.Steven stopped the gig and took Harry’s hands. Harry stared at him, wild-eyed.“It okay,” said Steven. “Nothin’ to be scairt of.”” Read more