Brimstone

"At the age of 14, Jenny Swift is torn from her home deep in the forest to become apprenticed to the master alchemist Richard Antrobus. Jenny's mother was a healer from the East who has taught her well and from whom she inherits her exotic looks. But this difference means that she faces suspicion and distrust as she is drawn into a plot to throw the world into chaos. Not only does Jenny have to fight to stay alive amid the treachery and intrigue that surrounds the court of the Duke, but she finds her friendships and loyalties tested to the full. Forced to seek the key to the greatest secrets of the alchemists, Jenny discovers the power that lies within her - skills which could make her the greatest alchemist of any age"--Publisher description.