Orrain: A Romance

A younger son raised for the Church narrates a life upended by family deaths and a hostile elder half-brother, recounting study in Paris and entry into courtly circles where secret missions and political danger follow. Tasked with perilous errands sealed by the Medici, he navigates intrigues at the Queen's palace with the help of loyal friends, enduring imprisonment, masquerades, thefts, and hidden chapels. Recurrent objects and episodes—a ring, a white mask, a packet of letters, and disputed jewels—weave personal rivalry, loyalty, and survival into a tale of adventure set against the tense backdrop of palace politics.