A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd

Here is a summary with spoilers for A Daughter of Fair Verona

Juliet survived her stab wounds, and the poison Romeo bought from a careless apothecary failed to take his life. The two lovers went on to build a life together, raising a family and living happily ever after in fair Verona. Decades have passed, and they now have seven children. Their eldest, 19-year-old Rosaline—cleverly named after Juliet’s cousin and Romeo’s former infatuation—has earned a reputation as a spinster, not only because she remains unwed but also because she has managed to avoid every engagement arranged for her. However, her luck may have run out, as she is now betrothed to Duke Stephano, a much older, slovenly man whose previous two wives died under mysterious circumstances. Desperate to escape this fate, Rosie seeks a way out.

Her plans take an unexpected turn when she meets Lysander, a young man with whom she shares an instant, undeniable connection—much like her parents did decades earlier. The only problem? Lysander is a Marcketti, a sworn enemy of the Montagues, much like the Capulets once were. Rosie and Lysander long to be together, but first, she must break free from her engagement. 

Rosie navigates the darkened gardens of her family estate, armed with a knife and the knowledge that Duke Stephano, her betrothed, poses a grave threat. As she moves cautiously through the shadows, she stumbles upon a corpse—Stephano himself, stabbed through the chest. Before she can process the shocking discovery, she is seized by Prince Escalus, who claims to be protecting her. Their exchange is laced with suspicion as Rosie wonders if the prince had a hand in the murder, while Escalus hints that Rosie or her supposed lover might be involved.

As the two cautiously retreat from the crime scene, avoiding detection, Rosie’s mind races. She reflects on her past successes in matchmaking and suddenly turns her thoughts to finding a suitable wife for the prince himself. Yet, Escalus, ever perceptive, seems to sense her scheming and watches her with an unreadable expression. With tensions high and the night’s danger far from over, he instructs her to keep her knife close as they return to the terrace—leaving the mystery of Duke Stephano’s death unresolved.

Rosie hurried to her room, tending to her minor wounds before concealing her knife and obeying Prince Escalus’s command. As she stepped onto the terrace, she was met with a chaotic crowd, buzzing with accusations of murder—hers. Whispers and shouts swirled about Duke Stephano’s death, with guests quick to condemn her. Even as her father and Prince Escalus attempted to temper the frenzy, Porcia eagerly fueled suspicion, throwing barbed remarks about Rosie’s virginity and Stephano’s preferences. Rosie, refusing to back down, turned the accusations onto Porcia, hinting at her own motive for murder. Despite the crowd’s mixed reactions, the prince called for patience and further investigation, instructing the women to leave. As Rosie exited, she received silent support from some and outright gratitude from one of Stephano’s servants, who revealed the Duke had been a cruel and murderous master. Though the prince had spoken in her defense, it was clear that in the eyes of Verona, Rosie was not yet absolved.

Rosie and Lysander share a playful yet charged conversation as he sneaks into her balcony, defying propriety and danger. Their flirtation turns into an exchange of wit, where Rosie teases him about his skulking skills, and Lysander, undeterred, professes his admiration. He reveals that Prince Escalus had hoped to prevent civil unrest by allowing her betrothal to Stephano, though he hinted at hidden truths about the late Duke. Their banter shifts to the topic of Stephano’s mistress, rumored to bear the mark of his cruelty. As their intimacy grows, Rosie leans in for her first kiss, only for Lysander to mock her lack of romantic flair. Before they can dwell on it, disaster strikes—Lysander’s perch gives way, sending him crashing to the ground below. Panic grips Rosie as she fears he has met an untimely end, echoing the tragic history of her parents. With her usual humor tinged by worry, she and Nurse scramble to assess the damage, Nurse vowing to revive or discreetly dispose of him if necessary. As Rosie waits, feigning sleep yet alert to every sound, she reflects on the absurdity of the night—her engagement, a murder, a newfound love, and now a suitor who might have literally fallen for her.

Rosaline grapples with the aftermath of a tumultuous night—Lysander is alive but missing, and gossip about Duke Stephano’s murder swirls. Katherina prods her about her supposed love for Lysander, while Cesario, in a burst of familial tradition, labels her the Montague "keepsake"—the sister who stays behind, unmarried, offering wisdom rather than passion. The notion unsettles her; she had embraced that role before, but love had struck unexpectedly, opening a new path.

At home, her father, Romeo, jovially welcomes her, yet the weight of tradition looms. When she teases him about being called a keepsake, he reminds her that Lysander clearly saw her differently. Rosaline, trying to downplay the night’s events, claims it was a fleeting infatuation—many have fallen for love in moonlight only to regain sense by dawn.

In a tender family moment, Rosaline witnesses Juliet’s distress, comforting her mother while managing her father’s fretful humor. The conversation shifts between love, family, and the responsibilities they bear. Romeo’s concern extends to her safety—after all, she had been found with a knife near a dead duke. He insists she take Nurse when she ventures out, revealing his protective instincts. Though Rosaline asserts her capability, Romeo reminds her that beauty and status invite envy. With a final kiss on her cheek, he pleads with her to grant him peace of mind.

Rosaline’s meeting with Prince Escalus in Friar Laurence’s apothecary reveals deeper layers of intrigue and power struggles within Verona. As she stands among the shelves of potions and herbs, she admits she’s more than just a seeker of remedies—she is the friar’s apprentice, learning his craft. The prince is taken aback, questioning whether her father, Lord Romeo, allows such pursuits. Rosaline dismisses concerns about propriety, bitterly acknowledging that her past has left her unmarriageable in the eyes of Verona’s elite.

Their conversation shifts to Lysander, whose intelligence and wit challenge Rosaline’s past assumptions about beauty equating to dullness. Yet, Prince Escalus warns her—her thoughts are written plainly on her face. Before she can respond, Friar Laurence enters and, realizing the prince’s presence, quickly assumes a deferential stance. Escalus arranges for Rosaline’s safe return home via his sedan chair, unwilling to let her walk unprotected. His authority is suffocating, but Rosaline recognizes that his concern extends beyond simple chivalry—he seeks answers about Duke Stephano’s death.

As Escalus watches her work, he reveals his suspicions about the late duke, the dangerous alliances at play, and his own tragic past—how his family suffered from betrayal and power struggles. He speaks of the coup attempt that left his father murdered and himself imprisoned, his body still bearing the scars. His voice carries both sorrow and a prince’s measured control, though Rosaline.

midst rising tensions and intrigue in Verona, Rosaline learns of Porcia’s poisoning and death, shocking those around her, including Nurse and Friar Laurence, who faints at the news. Prince Escalus arranges for Rosaline’s safe return to Casa Montague, where she encounters Lysander, who confesses his daring means of entering the garden. Their flirtation is interrupted by the looming danger surrounding her, with Prince Escalus warning that she is the target of unseen enemies. As he urges her to arm herself, he personally teaches her how to wield a dagger, an unusual gesture for a noblewoman. Later, he tasks her with training Princess Isabella in self-defense, hinting at deeper political turmoil. Before disappearing into the night, he leaves Rosaline with a whisper of admiration, deepening the complex web of relationships and suspense.

Rosaline worries about her father confronting Lysander and Prince Escalus but trusts that both men would hesitate to challenge Romeo Montague, a famed swordsman. Meanwhile, Nurse recounts Imogene’s reckless antics, and Rosaline ponders Duke Stephano’s poisoning, suspecting someone procured the poisons for him. The next morning, she learns that Romeo, in a drunken fit of melodrama, stormed Lysander’s house, broke his nose in a brawl, and later confronted Prince Escalus, who made an offhand remark about Rosaline matchmaking for him. Furious, she demands an explanation, but Romeo only admits that Escalus misinterpreted her attempts to arrange marriages. Later, as tensions mount, Rosaline visits Friar Laurence but is interrupted when a mysterious note threatens her life. A veiled woman hurls a stone at her in the church, nearly killing her, and as chaos erupts, a mob accuses her of witchcraft. Narrowly escaping, she realizes someone is determined to frame her for murder. Nurse, injured in the attack, is convinced the culprit is Miranda, Duke Stephano’s former mistress, but Rosaline isn’t sure—only that whoever is behind this won’t stop until she’s dead.

Haunted by a gnawing suspicion, the narrator sets out early to visit Duke Stephano’s tomb under the guise of paying respects, hoping to quell rumors of her involvement in his death. Despite her nurse’s warnings of danger, she is determined to regain her freedom and dispel suspicion. As they walk through the waking city to the ancient cemetery, death and decay surround them, stirring thoughts of mortality and her parents' eerie survival in the Capulet tomb. Inside, she discovers not Titania’s corpse but that of Miranda, the Duke’s missing mistress, her throat savagely cut—just as the tomb door slams shut, trapping her inside. Titania, once believed dead, emerges from the shadows—thin, veiled, and deranged—confessing to manipulation, murder, and a twisted sense of love tied to the Duke. As the truth unravels, it becomes clear that Titania is not a ghost, but a living, dangerous woman consumed by jealousy, betrayal, and delusion, revealing a grotesque reality that even the most absurd suspicions failed to fully capture.

In this intense and harrowing confrontation, Titania reveals her unrepentant guilt in the murders of Duke Stephano’s previous wives, her apothecary, and even her own ally Curan, all in her obsessive pursuit of love and power. Justifying each killing with cold detachment—from jealousy and revenge to fear of exposure—she confesses her twisted reasoning with eerie calm, even as her body slowly succumbs to a potion that’s acting like poison. As the narrator attempts to stall and provoke her, learning of the depth of Titania’s madness and long-standing vengeance—including an old attempt to harm the narrator’s family—Titania lashes out violently, wounding her. Still, the narrator resolves to survive, not just for herself but to protect those still in danger from the dying woman’s wrath. The scene crescendos into a deadly dance of words and blades, where survival depends on outlasting the madness long enough for death to claim Titania first.

In a desperate effort to survive, the narrator cleverly stalls Titania during their violent confrontation, using conversation and psychological manipulation to distract and weaken her. As Titania reveals her deluded motivations—faking her death to make Duke Stephano mourn her, only to be rejected and ridiculed when she returned—her mental state further deteriorates. Driven by obsessive love, betrayal, and a longing for validation, Titania recounts the string of murders she committed in his name, culminating in his own death when he spurned her. The narrator plays on Titania’s instability, pretending submission and fear while secretly preparing for escape. As Titania’s mind and body begin to unravel, the narrator seizes the moment, unlocking the tomb and collapsing into Nurse’s arms, finally escaping the madness and violence of the crypt.

After surviving a near-fatal infection from Titania's poisoned blade, Rosie spent weeks recovering, sustained by her family’s love—especially her Nurse, who claimed to have pulled her back from death. Though weakened, Rosie found joy in reconnecting with her siblings and hearing of Orlando’s recovery, but sorrow clouded her when she learned her family could not secure a marriage with Lysander due to a lacking dowry. Just as she resigned herself to a quiet life at home, Lysander appeared beneath her window, revealing he had been secretly visiting nightly. Their love rekindled, and with Nurse's bold assistance, a daring plan was made for them to be discovered in a compromising position during an upcoming party, forcing a marriage proposal. As Lysander departed, both he and Nurse remained wary of mysterious shadows in the garden, hinting that danger may still lurk despite their hopeful future.

On the night of her planned rendezvous with Lysander, Rosie was heavily dressed by Nurse in layers meant to safeguard her virtue, but the meeting took a shocking turn when the man she believed was Lysander turned out to be Prince Escalus. Their passionate encounter, culminating in an intimate touch, was abruptly halted when Rosie realized the deception and lashed out in rage. Her father intervened, sword drawn, only for Escalus to claim his trickery had led to her compliance and to request her hand in marriage to preserve her honor. Lysander was nowhere to be found, and the planned romance was ruined. Rosie, humiliated and furious, grappled with the loss of her independence, her dreams, and perhaps her virginity, as her future was now tied to the very prince who betrayed her. Wrapped in sorrow and fury, she rejected comfort and chose solitude, awaiting whatever fate would bring next.

Now reluctantly betrothed to Prince Escalus, Rosaline confronts him with cold fury and bitter sarcasm, refusing to make things easy despite her ruined reputation. Escalus explains that he had long been observing her—from her evasion of three prior betrothals to her skillful diplomatic maneuvers—and found her well-suited to be his wife: clever, family-oriented, fertile, and fierce. He admits he had made a list weighing her pros and cons, and though he initially delayed acting, Duke Stephano had discovered that list and tried to claim her for political advantage. Rosaline, reeling from the manipulation, realizes she is no more than a calculated acquisition—desired not for love, but for her value as a political, domestic, and reproductive asset—and though still technically a virgin, she feels utterly violated by the night’s events and trapped in a future she never chose.

Rosaline confronts Prince Escalus about his rough treatment of Lysander and accuses him of using power to manipulate her life, but Escalus defends his actions, insisting he would have crushed Duke Stephano for daring to threaten what he now considers his. He admits he struggled with her attachment to Lysander, whom he respected, and even considered stepping aside, but ultimately decided to claim Rosaline for himself by any means necessary. He reveals he’s been watching her for some time, admiring her strength, loyalty, and wit—even keeping the coin she teased him over as a token. As their tense conversation shifts into something more intimate, Escalus kneels beside her, presses a kiss into her palm, and tells her he wants her for who she is, vowing to protect her at all costs. Though Rosaline lets him take her hand and holds his kiss to her heart, she later lies in bed wondering if she can escape this new entanglement, even as she admits he's the most formidable opponent she's ever faced.