Author Interview with Jill Bray — A Knightly Betrayal

Today, I am delighted to welcome Jill Bray to Yarde Book Promotions to talk about A Knightly Betrayal, the second novel in her medieval mystery series featuring Simon de Hale, Sheriff of Yorkshire.

Set in October 1224, the novel finds Simon looking forward to a family celebration following the birth of his first grandchild. However, his plans are interrupted when Lady Cecily Chalcombe, a woman from his past, arrives seeking protection after receiving threatening letters. When her maid is subsequently murdered and Cecily is discovered standing over the body with blood on her hands, Simon finds himself drawn into an investigation where appearances may be dangerously misleading.

With his perceptive daughter Katherine helping him uncover the truth, Simon must navigate a world of noble ambitions, family secrets and divided loyalties, where wealth and position can prove just as dangerous as any weapon.

Jill joins me today to talk about the historical research behind Simon's world, the challenges of creating a convincing medieval murder mystery, and the relationships that continue to develop as the series progresses.

But first, let's check out A Knightly Betrayal

Publication Date: 22nd October 2026

Publisher: MCJ Books

Print Length: 351 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

October 1224.

 Simon de Hale, Sheriff of Yorkshire, is travelling to his manor to celebrate the birth of his first grandchild. Awaiting his arrival is an unexpected guest, Lady Cecily Chalcombe, a beguiling acquaintance from his days at the royal court. Recently widowed in scandalous circumstances, Lady Cecily throws herself upon his mercy and seeks his protection from the people threatening her.

Guests arrive for a celebration feast, including Lady Cecily’s brother Nicholas and the distinguished Earl Warenne. But upon retiring, Simon finds Lady Cecily standing over the dead body of her maid, hands bloodied.

Simon cannot believe she has killed her maid, but if she hasn’t then who was it. Was the death meant as a warning to Lady Cecily?

With the help of his daughter Katherine, Simon starts to investigate the murder and uncovers a web of gambling, deceit and betrayal. But will he be able to find the killer before Lady Cecily becomes the next victim.

 A Knightly Betrayal takes readers to Yorkshire in October 1224, where what should be a joyful family celebration quickly becomes a murder investigation. What drew you to this particular year and setting for Simon de Hale’s latest mystery?

I was drawn to this year as Simon de Hale was Sheriff of Yorkshire from 1223 to April 1225, so this is the time window the novels are set in.

A Knightly Betrayal actually takes Simon from York, where he is Sheriff, to Earls Barton in Northamptonshire. His family manor was at Earls Barton, and it is mentioned in the Fine Rolls of Henry III that he was granted by Royal favour 12 oak trees to build a house there. 

The first novel A Brotherly Devotion was set in July 1224 and Simon’s eldest daughter is pregnant in this. A Knightly Betrayal is set three months later, after she has given birth to his first grandchild.

Simon is travelling to his manor to celebrate the birth of his first grandchild when Lady Cecily Chalcombe unexpectedly arrives seeking his protection. What can you tell us about their history together, and why is Simon prepared to help her despite the scandal surrounding her recent widowhood?

The scandal around Lady Chalcombe (who is a fictional character) is around her late husband who took sides against the King at the siege of Bedford Castle in August 1224. He was killed at the end of the siege. Following this Lady Chalcombe petitioned the King to have her lands, which formed her dowry when she married, restored to her. This causes resentment at court, by those who believe the lands should rightly have come to them. Lady Chalcombe comes to Simon to ask for his help as she has started to receive threatening letters and believes she is being followed. 

Simon has known Lady Cecily for around 17 years. He was newly widowed at the time and a lawyer at the King’s Court. She was a young lady serving the Countess of Pembroke. He was captivated by her then but was still grieving his wife.

The murder of Lady Cecily’s maid takes place beneath Simon’s own roof, with Cecily discovered standing over the body with blood on her hands. How much fun was it to begin the mystery with evidence that appears to point so convincingly towards one person?

This was the first scene that came into my head for the novel – though originally it was Simon who was found standing over the dead body of Lady Cecily. However, as I wrote more of the novel, I came to like the character of Lady Cecily and wanted to keep her in the story, so I had to go back and re-write the beginning. 

I love to begin my novels with a murder, or incident, which makes the reader want to turn the pages to find out what really happened.

Simon refuses to believe Cecily is guilty and begins investigating alongside his daughter Katherine. How has the relationship between father and daughter developed, and what does Katherine bring to an investigation that Simon might otherwise overlook?

Simon is very attached to his youngest daughter, Katherine, and he has missed her since she married Alexander in July 1224 (at the end of the first novel) and went to live at Helmsley. This is the first time he has seen her since. Simon is a man of law and, because of his status as Sheriff of Yorkshire, a very powerful man. People can often be a little afraid of him, whereas Katherine is often the one they confide in. She is also very perceptive and intuitive and notices things about others that Simon misses.

When I write, I like to have an image of the characters in my head. Simon is based on Damien Lewis and Katherine is based on Eleanor Tomlinson (as Demelza in Poldark).

The arrival of Lady Cecily’s brother Nicholas and the Earl Warenne brings several new personalities into Simon’s household just before the murder. How did you use the gathering of guests to create suspicion and give Simon a believable circle of possible suspects?

I never plot, or plan, a novel I’m writing. I start with an idea and work from that – and invariably the initial idea changes as the story develops. 

I brought Earl Warenne into the story as a possible suitor for Lady Cecily. It is known that Earl Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, was looking to take another wife at this time. Indeed, he did marry the Maud, the widow of Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in 1225. I wanted his character to highlight the developing feelings Simon has for Lady Cecily and make Simon realise that might be falling in love.

The character of Nicholas was brought in initially as support for Lady Cecily. So that she had her brother with her as a familiar face in a gathering of strangers.

Q6. Gambling, deceit and betrayal all emerge as Simon and Katherine investigate. What interested you about exploring the secrets that could lie beneath the respectable surface of noble society in thirteenth-century England?

I wanted to look at money, power and status in England at that time and how these affected noble women. A woman inheriting lands and wealth might become of higher status than her brother and in a male dominated society this could cause resentment and hatred within a family and also at court.

I also wanted to look at how vulnerable a woman could be at this time. A man could force her into marriage against her will and take all her lands. It was not an easy time for a young, wealthy widow.

I wanted Nicholas to have a secret and had to do a lot of research about this, until I found something that would have been considered immoral by his peers at the time.

Simon is Sheriff of Yorkshire, which gives him authority but also responsibilities and expectations very different from those of a modern fictional detective. What research did you undertake into the role of a sheriff in the early thirteenth century, particularly when dealing with serious crime?

As a Sheriff, Simon would not normally get involved in everyday disputes or even murder. In the first novel A Brotherly Devotion, I had the Abbot of St Mary’s requesting his personal attention to the murder of the monk. In the current novel, the murder takes places in Simon’s own home, so he has little choice but to become involved. 

I did research about the duties of a Sheriff in medieval times and the position varied as to who was appointed into the role. Some County Sheriffs saw it merely as a way to increase their wealth and took little interest in the day-to-day administration. Many Sheriffs were earls, or barons and had little interest in the law. Whereas Simon is a lawyer by training and has a strong moral code, which means he insists on seeing justice done.

You have been interested in the medieval history of Yorkshire for more than forty years. Are there particular places, records or aspects of Yorkshire’s history that helped you create the world of A Knightly Betrayal?

I was born in Yorkshire and lived there for 33 years. It is a place that I love to come back and visit now. I studied medieval history in the late 1980’s and used the resources of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society – when they used to be based on Clarendon Road in Leeds. They had a late-night opening on a Thursday, which meant I go straight after work and study.

A Knightly Betrayal, takes the story away from Yorkshire to Northamptonshire and I had to do a lot of research into Earls Barton and the manor which Simon would have built – which no longer exists.

The title suggests that betrayal lies at the heart of the story. Without revealing the mystery, were you interested in exploring the different forms betrayal can take — between friends, family members and those bound by loyalty or obligation?

The title changed several times as I was writing the novel. I wanted a title that hinted at what was behind the murder, but without giving away who the killer was.

When I started writing the novel, it was Simon who was found standing over the body of a murdered Lady Cecily and Katherine was forced into proving her father’s innocence. I do not plan, or plot, the books at all, the characters within them drive the storyline.

 A Knightly Betrayal follows A Brotherly Devotion. How has Simon changed since readers first met him, and what new side of his character do you think this investigation reveals?

At the end of A Brotherly Devotion, Katherine marries Alexander and moves from York Castle to Helmsley. This highlights to Simon how alone he is now. He has only his work to occupy him and in A Knightly Betrayal I wanted to bring in the possibility of a romantic relationship for him. 

Lady Cecily and Simon’s relationship will feature in the third novel of the series A Deceitful Death which is set at Christmas 1224 at Helmsley Castle.

Historical mysteries have to satisfy readers on two levels: the crime needs to work as a convincing puzzle, while the investigation must remain believable for the period. Which side of that equation do you find the most challenging when constructing a mystery?

I suppose I spend most of my time trying to make the crime work as a puzzle. Not to give too much away too early and to try and lead the reader in a direction to believe the murderer is someone else.

I have found getting the dialogue correct for the period a little challenging too, but my proofreader has helped enormously with this – pointing out when the text is too modern for the period.

For readers returning to Simon de Hale in A Knightly Betrayal, what can they expect from his latest investigation — and for those meeting him for the first time, what do you hope will tempt them to follow him on further adventures?

When I wrote the first novel A Brotherly Devotion, it was intended to be a stand-alone book. However, I loved the characters of Simon and his daughter, Katherine, so much that I did not want it to end and I wanted their adventures to continue.

 

It was also something that I was asked by readers of the first novel, who wanted to read more of Simon and Katherine.

In A Knightly Betrayal and the next novel, A Deceitful Death – which will be out summer 2027 – I wanted to follow both Simon’s relationships with Katherine and also Lady Cecily. In addition I wanted to look at Katherine’s marriage to Alexander and how, after the passion of the illicit romance, marriage is proving to be very different for her. 

I also have ideas for two more novels in the series; both stories will take place in 1225. The first is set in late March 1225, following the reissuing of Magna Carta, and with Simon still as Sheriff of Yorkshire. The one after will be set in May/June 1225, with him back at the King’s Court, before he is appointed Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1226.

A huge thank you to Jill Bray for joining me today and sharing more about A Knightly Betrayal.

If you enjoy historical murder mysteries, medieval England, intriguing family relationships and stories where secrets and betrayals lurk beneath the respectable surface of noble society, then A Knightly Betrayal is certainly one to add to your reading list.

Pick up your copy of A Knightly Betrayal HERE.

Jill Bray

Jill lives on the Island of Guernsey now, but is originally from Yorkshire. She has a love of early medieval history which led her to study the subject at Huddersfield College in the 1980’s. Working in Leeds at the time, meant that she had access to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society on their late night opening and following research, she wondered what the lives of the people she read about were actually like. This started a love of writing historical fiction, but her initial stories were never sent to a publisher. Life and work then intervened and writing was put to one side. It was only following a workshop held by the Guernsey Literary Festival in 2024 on writing historical fiction, that her love of writing was reignited. 

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