LOVE, REMEMBER ME

Small's latest that picks up where Blaze Wyndham (1988) left off. The court of Henry VIII offers an unending supply of plot and counterplot to fill the interludes between heavy breathing. When this installment begins, Blaze uses her past intimacy with Henry to secure for her eldest daughter, Nyssa, a position as maiden to the newly betrothed Princess of Cleves. But no one pretends that Nyssa goes merely to serve the queen: ``Once you find a husband, you will marry and live happily ever after. That is the whole purpose of your coming to court.'' When Henry seeks an annulment because he finds his new wife too unappetizing to mount, he turns his lascivious attention to Nyssa and the equally beautiful, but witless, Catherine Howard. Catherine's uncle recognizes the power he'll gain if his niece becomes the next queen of England, so he drugs Nyssa and plops her in his grandson Varian's bed for Henry to discover. Varian doesn't get too upset when Henry orders them to marry immediately. After all, he's been in love with Nyssa from first sight, but he didn't have a chance because years earlier he had been accused (falsely) of a rape. At the same time, Nyssa, who thought she'd marry for love, quickly discovers that lust is almost as good a reason. All is threatened within a year when Catherine takes a lover; Nyssa must think fast to save her husband, for the king seeks to punish every Howard he can find. Heavy on historical detail and unusually light on romantic hobnobbing. Still, Small's faithful can't help but follow along.