About this episode
Episode 1: The Widow of Hawksmere – Part I The year is 1365. Rain lashes against the crumbling stones of Hawksmere Keep, where grief and danger walk hand in hand. Sir Godfrey de Clervaux is dead, and the bells toll their final mournful notes across the countryside. Yet for his widow, Lady Alianor, the true peril begins only now. Amid the flickering torches and whispered prayers of the funeral, eyes follow her every move — none more venomous than Sir Roland de Mowbray, a man whose charm conceals claws of iron. With Hawksmere weakened and her household divided, he offers protection at a price: her hand, her freedom, her very destiny. But Alianor’s heart beats with defiance. As shadows gather in the keep’s drafty halls and her loyal maid Bess falls gravely ill, whispers lead her to an outlaw — a healer feared and shunned, known only as The Thorn . To seek him out is to risk ruin. To ignore him is to risk everything. This is where the scandal begins. In The Scandalous Hours , sorrow becomes a weapon, desire becomes defiance, and the fire of one woman’s choices will ignite a tale of betrayal and forbidden love. Lean closer, darling — Lady Aurelia Ravenshade has opened her archives, and the first page drips with intrigue.