The Key (1999) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

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• Duncan Dunbar: Angus' son; 29 years old; Is six feet tall with a wide chest and broad shoulders; Has long, wavy red-brown hair and emerald green eyes
• Iliana Wildwood: "Lady Iliana" - "Lady Dunbar" - Daughter of a wealthy baron who died while in service to King Richard in Ireland; Has rich brown hair and gray eyes; Is five-six
• Angus Dunbar: "Laird Angus" - Duncan's father; An aging widower and clan chief of the Dunbars; Has gray hair; Is tall with a hard, lean body
• Muireall Dunbar: "Lady Muireall" - Duncan's mother; Had black hair; Deceased
• Seonaid Dunbar: "Lady Seonaid" - Duncan's sister; Lord Blake Sherwell's betrothed; Is almost six feet tall and svelte; Has long, straight black hair; 24 years old
• Blake Sherwell: "Lord Sherwell" - Seonaid's betrothed; Amaury's best friend; Son of the Earl of Hampshire; Is very tall with wide shoulders; Has blond hair
• Allistair Dunbar: "Allie" - Duncan's cousin and friend; Aelfread's brother; Has flame colored hair; Is very tall with broad shoulders
• Aelfread Dunbar: Duncan's cousin; Allistair's sister; A small redhead
• Margaret Wildwood: "Lady Wildwood" - Iliana's mother; Abod's widow
• Abod Wildwood: A wealthy baron; Iliana's beloved father; Deceased
• Agnes Dunbar: "Lady Agnes" - "Black Agnes" - Duncan's grandmother; Angus' mother; Deceased
• Rolfe Kenwick: "Lord Kenwick" - "Duke of Kenwick" - One of the King Richard's most favored dukes; Emma's cousin; Loves Emma like a sister; A fair-haired man
• Bishop Wykeham: Retired Lord Chancellor; Rolfe's travel companion
• King Richard II: King of England; Is in his mid 20's
• Queen Anne: King Richard's recently deceased wife
• Emmalene de Aneford: "Lady de Aneford" - "Emmalene Kenwick" - "Emmalene Eberhart" - "Emma" - "Em" - "Lord Darion" - Amaury's wife; Duchess; Has honey blonde hair and green eyes; Is petite and voluptuous; 22 years old
• Amaury de Aneford: "Lord de Aneford" - "Duke of Eberhart" - Emma's husband; Blake's best friend; A knight for King Richard II; Is very tall with wide shoulders; Has dark shaggy hair and dark brown eyes; Is in his 20's
• Francesco Carraro: Inventor of the chastity belt; Iliana's father's friend
• Robert McInnes: "Lord McInnes" - Adina's husband; A neighbor of Dunbar Castle; Ian's father; Is in his 50's; Has salt and pepper hair that was once ebony; Is of average height, well-formed and quite attractive
• Adina McInnes: "Lady McInnes" - Robert's wife; A neighbor of Dunbar Castle; Ian's mother; Is in her 50's; Has medium brown hair with a fleck of blue-gray here and there; Is quite lovely
• Ian McInnes: Duncan's friend and neighbor; Has long black hair
• Ebba: Iliana's maid
• Giorsal Dunbar: Older maid at Dunbar Castle; Allistair & Alfread's maternal aunt
• Gilley Dunbar: "Smithy" - Locksmith at Dunbar Castle
• Elgin Cummin: Cook at Dunbar Castle; Is short with thinning black hair and a body that resembles a barrel; His mother was a Dunbar
• Rabbie Dunbar: Stablemaster at Dunbar Castle
• Young Willie Dunbar: Rabbie's son
• Gavin Dunbar: One of the youngest guards at Dunbar Castle
• Cailean Cummins: "Cailie" - Head plaid maker; Eda's husband; Elgin's cousin; A testy, cantankerous man; Is five-five
• Eda Cummins: Cailean's wife; A tall, robust redhead; Is five-eleven
• Janna Dunbar: Sean's wife; Maid at Dunbar Castle; Has red hair
• Sean Dunbar: Janna's husband; One of Duncan's men
• Mavis Dunbar: Wille's wife; Maid at Dunbar Castle
• Old Willie Dunbar: Mavis' husband; One of Duncan's men
• Johnny-Boy: Gertie's son; Is six foot tall and burly as a barrel; Is in his 30's
• Gertie: Iliana's mother's maid; Johnny-Boy's mother
• Jean-Claude: Cook at Wildwood Manor
• Kelly Dunbar: Duncan & Allistair's mistress; Her hair is as red as fire
• Hugh: One of Rolfe's men
• Lord Greenweld: An ambitious baron with lands that border Wildwood; Iliana's evil stepfather; Beat Iliana's mother until she signed her name to a marriage decree; Has a bald head
• Chisholm: One of Greenweld's men
• Laird Lindsey: One of the Dunbars' enemies
• Laird Campbell: One of the Dunbars' enemies
• Laird MacGregor: One of the Dunbars' enemies
• Laird Colquhoun: One of the Dunbars' enemies

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Scotland: June 1395
• Dunbar Castle: Duncan's home in Scotland
• England
• Wildwood Manor: Iliana's childhood home in Southern England
• Ireland
• Greenweld Castle
• Italy
• France
• Spain
• St. Simmian's: A nunnery

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Errata edit see section history

In this book Duncan's female cousin is named "Aelfread".
In the following book (The Chase) she is named "Aeldra".

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Deed, and followed by The Chase.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Lynsay Sands (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Lynsay Sands Website: Historical Page

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history