Literary plot genre: Drama; historical | Edinburgh, 1775
Main characters
Lucy is the young daughter of a country merchant. Even as a child she realizes that the life offered to her by her family and social class will not be able to satisfy her: she wants much more. Lucy is thirteen years old when she accompanies her father to Windsor Castle to deliver goods and meets young Baron Carl by chance. He is a lonely boy, plagued by a problem with his legs. The two teenagers get to know each other and secretly date for an entire summer, falling in love.
The call to adventure
Years later, Lucy has become an attractive woman, also known for her wit and intelligence. Her studies allow her to teach, but she continues to lead a simple life as she did during her childhood. She is unmarried and lives far from the luxuries she dreamed of and continues to dream of.
Carl inherited the titles and vast family properties. The man has lived in London, Paris, and Madrid. He traveled the world and finally entered into a marriage of interest with a noble cousin, Eleanor. His wife gave Carl an heir, and when the man decides to return to the family castle, he decides to entrust his son's education to a couple of teachers. For this reason, Lucy is called to the castle.
The conflict
Carl knows that his physical defect has always bothered his wife Eleanor, who has nevertheless pretended not to care about it in order to preserve the possibility of bonding with a wealthy nobleman. This makes Carl a man still in search of love, and when he sees Lucy again in the castle's main hall, time seems to rewind and feelings preserved until then resurface.
On the one hand there is him, his family, reputation, and social conventions, and on the other the attraction to Lucy. The girl, too, must maintain the balance between good name and the feeling of revenge that has always pervaded her.
The key
Being inside castle life, being able to observe the haughty Eleanor, to see the luxury to which Carl's wife has access, rekindles in Lucy a desire to replace her and with a determination she never had. As the weeks pass Lucy becomes more and more daring with Carl. She becomes his mistress and overwhelms him sexually to the point of making him a puppet in her hands.
Eleanor is too distracted by worldliness and has always been uncaring of her husband to notice the man's change. A perverse relationship is established between Carl and Lucy, in which Carl becomes succubus to his mistress. At his umpteenth sexual request, the woman refuses unless Carl arranges for his wife to disappear. Carl agrees and instructs the castle gamekeeper to commit the crime.
But something goes wrong: the gamekeeper has been a former lover of Eleanor's and informs her of her husband's intentions. A trap is set, and when Carl goes to deliver the agreed-upon money to the murderer, he is arrested by the king's guards. This is also the end for Lucy, imprisoned as an accomplice. Only Eleanor and the gamekeeper remain at the castle.
The alternatives
You can intervene on the protagonist and other secondary characters, changing gender, names, places, but the best way to modify a historical plot is to evoke particular moments in History so as to create a unique atmosphere and setting. Imagine the French Revolution, or the Italian Renaissance, or moments in Russian, American, or Spanish history.
Finally, remember that this type of plot can also be an excellent basis for fantasy stories: invent an enchanted kingdom, some fantastic creatures, and have fun placing the plot in the new world.
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