Meet Osbert, the Village Leader

Osbert is the unofficial leader of the village in the novel Courting Trouble. He and the villagers are scheming to prevent the king from imposing higher taxes. Their idea is to hide most of their wealth. In this drawing he is pressing Cynethrith to persuade her family to go along with the plan. Here's how Cynethrith sees Osbert: 

Osbert was tall and handsome and I, like everyone else in the village, enjoyed hearing him talk. He had a tiny little wife that he doted on; I was never sure why. I didn’t dislike her, but sometimes I used to imagine all the different ways she might die and how I would console Osbert.

From the Sketchbook: Scene 3

Sketchbook illustrations for  Scene 3 of Courting Trouble by Elaine Drew. In this scene, the villagers meet to discuss how to survive the King's expected visit to the nearby town of Winchester. One of the villagers recounts a story she has heard about the queen: an Abbot has seen her consorting with her favorite warriors in the guise of a horse. The Abbot hurries to the Castle and tells the King what he has seen. The queen presents the Abbot with some flowers, and he is mysteriously found dead the next morning. The villagers hide livestock in the scrubby woods near the village, and some youths are sent to climb the town's walls to keep a look out for the King's arrival.

From the Sketchbook:Scene 2

This chapter of Courting Trouble tells us why the people of Wessex do not like their King. A power hungry and resentful prince sets his warriors against the legitimate king, killing him while he is visiting his mistress. All who are eligible and of age to take the king's place are killed in the skirmish. The mistress is burned for infidelity, and her husband remarries a very young girl. Wessex's enemy, Mercia, takes over the kingdom by installing the puppet king Beorhtric.

Meet the Troubled Court: King Beorhtric

Meet the characters who populate Courting Trouble. Today we'll feature His Majesty King Beorhtric (pronounced (BEE OR Trick), with an excerpt from the book that describes the heroine's first glimpse of the drunkard king.

I entered the chamber. The light was dim and the first thing I noticed was the smell. The sour breath of the sleeping monarch hung in the air like the still fog of a summer morning. I set down the pitcher and turned to look at Beorhtric. He was lying on his back on the bed, his legs apart. His tunic had worked its way up above his waist, and his penis was practically lost in a great mass of gray and black pubic hair made even more eye-catching by the pale white of his skin. A linen sheet, intricately embroidered along one end with colorful interlocking beasts, covered only his chest and then trailed onto the floor. There was a pillow under his neck, and his head fell back, diminishing the effect of the great wattles of flesh beneath his chin. His mouth was open. He snored loudly and with great inventiveness.