Unknown Ajax Part V

Hugo tells his grandfather that he's willing to put some of his money into the estate, as he can see that its needed, and he wants things better managed. He wants to move into the Dower House with Anthea, but they both wonder if the butler who is living there, is using it to help smugglers. Then drama begins to happen. Hugo and the family are playing billiards when Richmond comes back to the house, with his face blackened and wiht a gunshot wound. He reveals that he has indeed been smuggling, although he knows he should not have been. He was so fed up with his life that he didn't care. Hugo is shocked but not surprised, but thinks the main thing is to conceal Richmond's behaviour from the law and then perhaps he can get him into the army. He rigs up a plan where Richmond pretends that he's drunk, and Claud wears Richmonds bloodstained clothes and admits that he ran away when the Dragoons chased him and shot at him, because he feared they were the family of his village flirt, Eliza coming after him. Ottershaw can't prove that it was Richmond who was shot and Claud's acting is enough to fool anyone, so he has to retire. Lord Darracott realises that his possessive and foolish behaviour has caused Richmond to behave foolishly and recklessly, and he agrees that when his grandson is recovered, he will let him join the army. Hugo and Anthea are relieved that Richmonds problems are solved now, and that they can marry and take over the Darracott estate. The love story is of less importance in this novel than the smuggling story, but it has a lot of humour with Hugo's teasing his relatives by talking broad Yorkshire.....

Unknown Ajax Part IV

Hugo fears that the Darracotts' attitude to smuggling may result in problems, as he can see that the young Riding officer is very keen on his job and determined to stamp out the practice and he's not worried about the fact that the Darracotts are upper class. Anthea tells him that her family dont have anything to do with the trade but if they found brandy in one of their barns they would turn a blind eye. She and Hugo are getting on better, and Hugo gets on well with Lady Aurelia, Matthew's bossy but intelligent wife, and spends time with her 2 sons. Vincent does not like him, but Claud has been told to help Hugo with fitting into society, and he enjoys the task. Hugo is concerned about Richmond, and feels that its not natural for a boy of 18 to lead such restricted life, having to placate his grandfather all the time. He feels the boy is secretive and that he's up to some mischief. Hugo is increasingly drawn towards Anthea and tells her he is in love with her.. she reminds him of his engagement and he admits that it was an invention on his part, because he felt worried that he was being pressured into marriage at their grandfather's order. Meanwhile, Claud begins a flirtation with a village girl, whose family are inclined to radical views. Anthea is increasingly attracted by Hugo, realising that he's a very decent and kindly person, but then the family receive startling news. His grandfather, Mr Bray was not a weaver but a former weaver who got on well and made a fortune, inventing machinery, and who ended up a mill owner. Lord Darracott is furious, but Hugo tells him that he himself acted like a plain simple Yorkshire man, because he was annoyed at how the family seemed to expect him to be an illiterate rustic. He went to Harrow and while he did still have soemthing of a Yorkshire accent, he was reared as a rich man's son. Anthea is very upset by the news, as she fears that people will say she is marrying Hugo because he is very wealthy, but he tries to reassure her.

Unknown Ajax Part III

Hugo is pressed by his grandfather to spend time with Anthea, who takes him around the estate and the house. He can see the estate is very run down, and needs beter management but Anthea tells him that Lord Darracott is totally selfish and wont do anything. He is fond of Richmond but its a selfish affection, he wants to keep him at home, and wont let him do anything that he wants, except in trivial matters. Hugo feels that if Richmond would like to be a soldier, it would be good for him, rather than leading an idle life and not having a worthwhile occupation. He lets it slip to Anthea that he has a beautiful ladylove, in Yorkshire, to whom he is engaged. Anthea is taken aback, as Hugo reveals that he proposed before Waterloo, and that was 2 years ago, but he hasn't been home since then and does not know if she is waiting for him, because she is not a lady of quality and cant write. He admits that he knows that his grandfather will be furious that he is engaged to a woman of the lower orders, even if she is a beauty. Anthea and Richmond take Hugo to see RIchmond's boat, but they meet a Riding officer on the way, who is there to stop smuggling... and Hugo is shocked to find that Kent and Sussex people are not all that worried about smuggling and that most people in the area are involved in it at some level or buy the goods brought in. He can see that Ottershaw the Riding officer is very keen on his work, and it worries him that the Darracotts are so casual about the breaking of the law.

Unknown Ajax Part II

Matthew Darracott arrives with his wife and sons, and he is very annoyed because he had believed that he was heir to the title and estate. His elder son, Vincent, is a selfish rake, and gambler, and he too is annoyed. Claud, the second son, is a dandy who tries to create fashion trends but is not very original. He likes women, but is afraid of matchmaking mothers so he usually flirts with girls from the lower classes who are not likely to seek marriage. He is good natured and not very clever, and has inherited a small fortune from a relative. Vincent does not get on with him because he resents Claud having money, and because he finds his innocuous trifling with young women ridiculous. He is also sardonically amused at Claud's attempts to develop fashionable quirks, such as a shovel for taking snuff. Richmond is eager to meet his cousin, and the family are surprised when Hugh, known as Hugo turns up. He is a big sturdily built man in his late 20s, and he seems amiable and shy. Mrs Darracott takes a liking to him, feeling sorry for him, having come from a modest background and suddenly having to cope with a new family and a new rank of society. She also does not fit in too well with the Darracotts, being gentle and shy, so she sympathises with him. However they are surprised when he talks with a broad Yorkshire accent and seems incredibly placid and gentle for someone who has been in the army. He startles the family at dinner by mentioning that he has been in prison, but it comes out that he was a prisoner of war, during his army service. Lord Darracott severely discourages him from talking about his background in Yorkshire, and also from talking about his army service, in case it encourages Richmond to want to go into the military. However Hugo is shaken when his grandfather tells him that it would be a good idea if he married his cousin Anthea, who is 22. She knows the estate and could help him fit in with upper class ways. Anthea is furious when she learns about this plan. She has not taken to Hugo who seems absurdly good tempered, but her mother reminds her that she has only had 1 season in London and she did not get any suitable offers of marriage.. and she does not have much money, so her chances of marrying are slender.. so Hugo might be her only chance.

Unknown Ajax Part I

This is one of the novels that Its taken me some time to warm up to. It is a very good work, more of an adventure story than a love story, but well written and funny. It starts in a manor house in Kent, where the Darracotts live. Old Lord Darracott is one of Heyer's tyrants, who is arrogant and selfish and quarrels with his family all the time. He is not friendly with any of his neighbours, and cares for nobody very much. His widowed daughter in law, Elvira keeps house for him and he despises her and she lives on a small jointure, with her son Richmond and daughter Anthea. Anthea is a pretty girl and much cleverer than her mother. Richmond is a rather spoilt boy, who loves all sports but because he was a rather delicate child, is coddled by his mother and grandfather. Lord Darracott is fond of him, and keeps him at home - refusing to let him consider the army which he wants to enter. Anthea loves her brother but considers him spoiled and fears that Lord Darracott's selfish affection will ruin him. The eldest son of the family, Granville, died a few months earlier in a boating accident, together with his only son. So the family believe that the title will go to Matthew, the third son who is a politican and does not live in Darracott place. Mrs Darracott is the widow of the 4th son. However, they are amazed when they learn that there is another heir... Hugh, the second son, was a soldier who was killed in action many years earlier. Now they find that he had been married, and fathered a son, who is now the heir. Lord Darracott was enraged by the marriage, because he married a poor girl, a weaver's daughter, and he disowned his son and never mentioned the marriage or the existence of the younger Hugh. Now Lord Darracott says that he has invited his grandson to stay, as he is the heir, and that he hopes he can make him into a suitable successor. Anthea is none too happy, as she can see that she and her mother will be forced to help this young man to fit in to society. They learn that he's a soldier, amazingly, he is an officer in spite of his humble background. Lord Darracott also invites his son, Matthew, Matthew's wife, Lady Aurelia, and their 2 sons, Vincent and Claud.

Charity Girl Part IV

Hetta is annoyed at hearing that Simon has made up this lie about her and Ashley, as engagements are a serious matter and she's afraid that it will look odd if it gets out that she and Ashley were engaged but broke things off. Moreover she finds that Cherry has disappeared from the house. Charlie, Hetta's brother, had been a little attracted to her, as he is at home recovering from a riding accident and has broken ribs. Cherry has tried to push him away from flirting with her but Lady SIlverdale who has become a bit irritated with the girl, tells her off for encouraging him. It is completely unfair but Lady Silverdale is often silly and unreasonable and prone to take up people and then see faults in them. Hetta is worried that Cherry has rushed out of the house in a tearful mood and she does not come back. And Wilfred Steane is planning to call and see his long neglected daughter. THen Cary Nethercott turns up with Cherry in his arms. She had been out walking, trying to calm herself, and then tripped and strained her ankle badly. Unable to get up, she ws found by him when he was out shooting and he bandaged her ankle and took her back to Inglehurst. She tells Hetta that Cary has asked her to marry him and she wants to wed him as she has found him kindly and friendly when they met at parties at Inglehurst. Hetta can see that Cherry needs a kindly older man, who will look after her... and that Mr Nethercott likes to be protective. She is a little saddened that he seemed to be courting her only a few weeks earlier, and he has now changed in his affections. However, she has never been in love with Cary. Ashley arrives at Inglehurst and is relieved that Cherry is all right and her future is now taken care of. Hetta tries to make a joke of the fact that she will have to be the one who breaks off their fake engagement, when he startles her by telling her that he loves her and that he did not realise it for a long time. He had become jealous of Cary Nethercott paying her attention and had grown closer to her while they were looking after Cherry. She accepts his proposal... and they embrace...... The story is quite good but there is not that much interaction between the hero and heroine, Ashley spends most of his time on the road trying to help Cherry, but it is enjoyable.

Charity Girl Part III

Ashley wonders if he could persaude Miss Fletching, headmistress of Cherrys old school, to give her a home and he would pay an allowance to keep her, but it would look very odd if it leaked out. Meanwhile Cary Nethercott is still visiting Hetta, and Ashley finds himself getting irritated with the man. He is kind and pleasant but rather stuffy. He too feels very sorry for Cherry. Lord Wroxton, his father pays a visit to the Silverdales, to see what the girl is like having heard about Ashley becoming her champion. He can see that she is nothing like her dishonest father or her spiteful old grandfather. He feels some admiration for his son, having thought for a long time that Ashley showed little sign of responsibility but he is now working hard to help someone. He tells his wife that if his son is becoming more sensible and if he would get married and settle down, he would hand over one of his smaller estates to him. Lady Wroxton can see that Ashley is moving from friendship towards Hetta to being in love with her, and she hopes it wont be long before they can marry and move to the estate. Simon Ashley's brother recevies a visitor, who turns out to be Cherry's errant father Wilfred. Wilfred is clearly a selfish outrageous con man. He claims that he had to leave England because of money and legal troubles, and now he is back to look after his daughter. However when he learns that Ashley has involved himself in Cherry's affairs, he begins to make accusations that he is trying to seduce his daughter and that he will insist that they get married. Angry and unsure what to do, Simon tells Steane that Ashley took Cherry to stay with Hetta for safety and because he is engaged to her..... then he has to dash off to Hetta's home to let her know that he has told this fib.

Charity Girl Part II

Ashley stops and takes Cherry into his carriage, and she tells him that she's running away from her aunt's house and trying to get to London to see her elderly grandfather. He tells her that her grandfather is generally held to be a recluse and a hard hearted man, but she is determined to leave. He can see that Lady Bugle and her cousins have been unkind to her and he can understand her wanting to escape. So he agrees to drive her to London. When they get there, he finds that old Lord Nettlecombe is not in his house, and nobody knows where he has gone. Nettlecombe had quarrelled with Wilfred Steane, Cherry's father, and disowned him and Steane had disappeared and CHerry thinks he may be dead. She is not a very clever girl and is not sure how she can support herself if her father or grandfather dont help, but she tells Ashley that she does have a talent for looking after sick old ladies. Ashley tells her he will take her to Hettas house, to stay for a few days while he finds old Lord Nettlecombe. So he drives her to Inglehurst place, and Hetta and her mother take the girl in. Lady Silverdale is a radther moody lady, but she takes a fancy to Cherry and is willing to have her to stay for a short while. Ashley leaves her and goes to see Lord Nettlecombe at his country seat. When he gets there he finds that the old man has let the house to a retired merchant, and then manages to find out that he has gone to Harrogate, the spa town. He travels there in a post chaise and finds that he's staying in a hotel. Lord Nettlecombe is not willing to see him, nor to hear that his granddaughter is homeless and needs some kind of help. Then Ashley is startled to find that a rather over dressed lady comes in, and Nettlecombe introduces her as his bride. She is his middle aged housekeeper, who was like Nettlecombe himself, very economical, but she managed to persuade him to marry her and now he's tied to a lady who is vulgar and extravagant. Ashley is a little amused at the situation but he finds that he cant get the old man nor his wife to do anything for Cherry other than offer to take her into the house, with an expectation that she will do some work for them. He tells them that he does not intend to have helped Cherry leave Lady Bugles house, only to put her into a house where she will still be an unpaid servant. He leaves Yorkshire to go home unsure what to do next. When he gets back, he finds that Hetta is worried about Cherry. Her mother, Lady Silverdale, is prone to take a liking to someone and then to find fault with her, and she's afraid that this is starting to happen with Cherry. The only solution seems to be to try and find her a job as a companion to an old lady.

Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer

Charity Girl is one of Heyers last novels, and its a little like the Foundling, in that a lot of the story is about the hero helping a young girl. Ashley, Lord Desford is visiting his father who is ill with gout, and who is annoyed that his eldest son shows no signs of settling down. He has a fortune of his own, inherited from an aunt, so he is independent of his father and spends much of his time pursuing sports. Lord Wroxton reads a tirade over him, complaining that he could have married Hetta Silverdale, who lives nearby, and Ashley responds that he is very fond of Hetta but they are good friends and not likely to fall in love. He pays a visit to her, at her family home, before leaving the area to visit his Aunt, Lady Emborough, and finds Hetta is entertaining a male friend who has recently moved to the area, Mr Nethercott. Ashley thinks that he is a bit dull but talks to him civilly and then goes off on his visit. Lady Emborough has a large family and Ashley enjoys a stay with them. However they are invited to a ball at the nearby estate of Sir Thomas Bugle who has a very lovely daughter, Lucasta. Ashley flirts with her, a little but during the ball, he sees a young girl watching from upstairs. He goes up to speak to her, thinking she is one of the younger children and finds that she's actually 18, but very small. She is Cherry Steane, Lady Bugle's neice, and he discovers that she has been taken in by her aunt because her parents are dead... and she has been treated as a servant almost. He feels very sorry for her but is shocked the following day, to find her trudging along the road, with a suitcase.

Quiet Gentleman Part III SPoilers

Drusilla's family are renting a house on the Stanyon estate, but have gone away to visit some of the Lake poets who are their friends. She goes to the house one day, to check that all is well and then visits one of the servants on her way back to the castle. SHe comes across Gervase, having had a bad fall from his horse, lying on the ground. It looks as if someone had put a cord across the path, causing the horse to stumble and throw him. She looks after him and gets him back to the castle but is increasingly worried that someone is trying to kill the earl. Gervase is also suspicious but tells her and Ulverston to put out a story that his horse stumbled into a rabbit hole and he had a bad fall. He keeps a wary distance from his brother. When he recovers he finds that Martin has got a new valet, an odd rough looking man who uses thieves cant, and wonders why. Martin goes out shooting and disappears, and when he comes back, he tells a strange tale of having been kidnapped by someone who then let him go and he found out on his way back to Stanyon, that the police were looking for him. He tells Gervase that his so called Valet is actually a retired Bow Street runner, whom he hired because he was worried about his own and his brothers safety. Gervase realises that someone has been trying to make mischief between the 2 of them, and he confronts Theo, telling him that he believes it is he who has been doing this, contriving accidents that look like they have been caused by Martin... and that he beleives that Theo had developed an obsession with Stanyon... and wanted it for himself. If Gervase were killed and Martin were blamed for it, he would inherit the estate. Gervase adds that he does not bear malice against his cousin, he feels that he was in a very difficult positon. He grew up at Stanyon and loved it, but it was not his estate.. and old Lord St Erth did not think of giving him one of his smaller estates for his own... Martin is horrified when he hears this.. but Gervase says that he will only remember Theo as his cousin of whom he was fond and who looked after his interests for a long time. Gervase suggests that THeodore could go to the West Indies to look after an estate there, but the estate belongs to Martin. Martin agrees, unhappily, saying that they dont want a scandal and that if Theo leaves Stanyon but stays in England there will be talk. In the meantime, Gervase has proposed to Drusilla. Her father is not too happy because he disapproves of Earls, however Drusilla's mother is more practical and feels that the couple love each other and that her daughter is doing very well for herself to catch an earl.. so they agree to the marriage.

Quiet Gentleman Part II

Gervase tries to get to know his younger brother but finds Martin is very spoiled, stormy and difficult. Theo tells him that Martin was reared as though he was the heir and that he and Lady St Erth half hoped or believed that Gervase would not survive the war. He is rather shocked to feel that his brother at least cared so little for him, and feels rather wary of him. Matters get worse when he meets Marianne Bolderwood, the pretty daughter of a local gentleman, who is an heiress, very beautiful and Marianne flirts a litlte with him, arousing Martin's jealousy. Lady St Erth has hoped that her son would marry Marianne when they are a little older, and Gervase finds her attractive though she is naive and young. This causes more tension between the brothers, and Theo remarks that Lord St Erth has left a lot of unentailed property to his favourite son. Drusilla Morville, the house guest, tries to smooth over the problems, and Gervase finds her soothing and pleasant to talk to though she is not a beauty. Her father is a member of the gentry but he has very radical views and wishes to live in a republican state. A friend of Gervase, Lucius, Lord Ulverston comes to visit. He has also been in the army but has sold out when his father inherited an earldom, and now he meets Marianne and falls in love with her. This arouses Martin's anger even more, seeing the girl he was enamoured of being courted by 2 older men who have titles. He gets into an argument with Lord Ulverston and challenges him to a duel. Gervase manages to smooth things over, telling Martin that Lord Ulverston has become engaged to Marianne and that he must respect that, and the duel is called off. But Gervase although he is naturally mild mannered is increasingly angry with his brother and regarding him as unstable and very foolish. He begins to wonder if Martin might wish to see him dead, and remembers that since he came to Stanyon there have been odd accidents to himself that could have been caused by the younger man. Drusilla Morville tries to keep the peace and Gervase grows increasingly fond of her, since she is calm and sensible, even if she's not so pretty as Marianne.

Quiet Gentleman BY Georgette Heyer

This is one of Heyer's adventure stories, more of a mystery book than a romance. Gervase Frant, Earl of St Erth, returns to his family home in Lincolnshire, a year after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. He had been a professional soldier all through the wars and had not seen much of his family. His father, a severe man, had married twice. His first wife was Gervase's mother, who was unhappy in her marriage and who ran off with a notorious rake, within a few years of marriage. Lord St Erth was enraged and remarried a few years later, after her death. He had 2 more children by his second wife, a son Martin and a daughter Louisa. He disliked his eldest son, because the boy was a reminder of his mother, and Gervase spent more time with his mother's family. Martin was favoured by his father, who treated his second son as though he was the heir and not Gervase. Gervase went into the army and rarely came home, disliking his domineering stepmother and not caring much for his half brother and sister. His only friend at home was his cousin Theodore, the son of Lord St Erth's younger brother, who had been reared at Stanyon the family home. As an adult, Theodore took on running the estates. Gervase returns home, to take up his title and estate, but although he is a gentle man who does not like conflict, he feels ill at ease with his stepmother and the rest of the family, apart from Theodore. He tells Theo that he might decide to live at one of the smaller family houses, but he knows that his father left a lot of his property to Martin. He also finds that Lady St Erth has a young woman friend staying with her, and he finds the girl rather dull, and hopes that his stepmother is not trying to marry him off to her.

Beds and BLue Jeans

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beds-Blue-Jeans-everyday-mayhem-ebook/dp/B01370SMFO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1W9753L8DLM2I&keywords=beds+and+blue+jeans+nadine&qid=1671034961&sprefix=beds+and+blue+jeans+nadine%2Caps%2C491&sr=8-1 A realistic story about a small time singer in Nashville who tries to make a living with his band, and tries to find true love, though he has a girlfriend and a baby.

Rough Music, a story on Amazon

  Rough Music eBook : Sutton, Nadine: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

This is one of my works set in the American country and rock music world.  Its not a romance;  its a story about two members of a country rock band, in the 1970s and 80s.. who are trying to move from the small time to the big time.  Its about the compromises that they make along the way.. their love of their music.. and their friendships.. and the strain that touring and working hard puts on their marriages....and the ups and downs of travelling with a band, in the old days. Its based on what I know of the bands back then when I was a kid, and how they worked very hard and gave a lot to their fans... and partied hard. I hope that people can enjoy a story which does not have a schmaltzy happy ending.  

Agatha Christie

 Agatha Christie was a contemporary of Dorothy Sayers and like her a detective fiction writer.  She was born to a well to do middle class family in 1890.  She studied at home and was a voracious reader.  Her father died when she was a child and the family were  left not so well off, but Agatha did come out and do the social season, and fell in love with Archie Christie, just before the outbreak of the War.  He joined the army and they got married.  During the war, she did voluntary work learning to be a dispenser in a hospital, so she acquired a knowledge of medicines and poisons. 

This knowledge was useful to her, when she started to write, which she had always wanted to do.  Her husband came out of the army at the end of the war and went into business, and Agatha started to write her novels.  She created Hercule Poirot, a Belgian refugee who became her first detective.   During the war, a lot of Belgians had come to Britain to escape the German invasion. 

Her novels sold well and she was a busy worker.  Unlike Sayers who only wrote 11 detective novels, Christie produced many novels in this genre and created more than 1 detective, like Miss Marple, a middle aged spinster.  Sayers wanted to write more serious novels and also went into writing plays, mainly on religious themes. However Christie stuck to the one genre, for the most part and her works tend to be pure mystery rather than serious novels. 

In the 1920s, Agatha's marriage to Archie Christie became unhappy.  He had a mistress and wanted a divorce.  Agatha disappeared for 11 days, causing a newspaper furore, her car was found abandoned and she had vanished.  She was found staying at a hotel under the name of her husband's mistress.  She seems to have had a breakdown, but some people thought it was a publicity stunt.  Afterwards, she and Archie divorced and Agatha continued with her writing career.  She later remarried to an archaeologist, and took a great interest in his work. 

She was such a prolific writer and her works still sell and have been made into TV and films, with many different actors playing Poirot and Miss Marple.  Sayers, by contrast, was not keen on her works being filmed, and even now, there have only been a handful of TV adaptations. 

Strong Poison by Sayers

 Strong Poison is the first book with Harriet Vane in it, and it reflects part of Sayers' own life.  It is a murder mystery about arsenic poisoning.  Harriet, like Sayers herself, is a Bloomsbury writer who writes murder mysteries, and like Sayers she falls in love with a young man.

Philip Boyes, her lover, is a poet and novelist, like Sayers' boyfriend John Cournous, and like John he tells her as John told Sayers, that he does not believe in marriage and does not want a conventional married life with children.  Boyes pesters Harriet to live with him and she finally agrees, and moves  in with him.  Boyes like Cournous is pretentious, a good writer but someone who likes to show off his intellectual abiliites, and who resents Harriet for earning a living for both of them, though the money comes in handy.  

Dorothy did not live with John Cournous, but she did have an intimate relationship with him while still hoping that he might marry her.  She got tired of his ways, and broke off with him because, although she cared for him, she could not see any future in it.  Then she learned that in America, he had married a woman who had children, and gone back on all his principles.  

Harriet finds, after a year, that Boyes also goes back on his principles.  He asks her to marry him and she is angry and upset, since she felt that he had been testing her love for him, trying to see if she would give in to him and abandon her principles for him.   Harriet broke off their relationship and left him.  

Then, Boyes is poisoned with arsenic, and it looks like Harriet, who has been writing a book on arsenic poisoning, might have killed him. 

Sayers used her backstory with Cournous to provide a set up for her murder mystery, and the novel starts with Harriet being tried for his murder. 

Murder stories in Sayers' time were not expected to be fully accurate.  The story would centre around a murder by some esoteric method that was not likely to be used in real life.  In Strong Poison, the murder is poisoning by arsenic, but the killer ate the same food as the victim.  Peter then learn that its possible to build up an immunity to arsenic by eating a bit of it every day and that Norman Urquhart, the murderer had done this, and then shared an omelette with his cousin, the victim. 

Sayers was conscientious about trying to find out scientific information for the methods of murder she used, though she did  not always get it right as she was not a scientist. 

Reluctant Widow Part II

 The discussion is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Carlyon's youngest brother Nicky, who is at Oxford.  He had been sent down for a prank, and on his way, he met Eustace in an inn.. Eustace was drunk and made unkind remarks about Carlyon, which infuriated the young man.  They got into a fight, Eustace tried to attack Nicky with a knife and ended up stabbed himself.

Nicky, shocked and scared, tells his brother that their cousin is dying. Edward Carlyon tells Elinor, that if she comes with him to the inn she and Eustace could be married, and it would save him from having to inherit his estate.  Elinor is in a state of shock and agrees.  She and Eustace are married, by special licence and Edward sends her back to the house, Highnoons, while he helps his  cousin to make his will, and leave his property to Elinor. 

The following morning, she wakes up to find she is a widow, and owner of a badly run estate and a shabby house.  She sets about getting it cleaned up, and hiring more servants. A couple of days later, she finds a man in one of the rooms, who tells her that he is a friend of Eustaces, and he had come in through a private door, to see his friend.

He is a French emigre, named Louis de Castres who had been brought up in England, and Elinor is highly suspicous of her late husband's conduct.. as it seems odd that he would walk into the house as he has done.  The Carlyons wonder if possibly Louis is a French spy, and if Eustace has been selling information about Wellington's war plans to a  Bonapartist.  His uncle, Lord Bedlington, is an ADC to the Regent  and has access to the War office. 

Elinor is concerned about the danger to herself  if she stays in the house until it is sold, with strange people coming in and out through secret passages, but the Carlyon family, particularly Edward are very cool about it.  Eventually, it emerges that Lord Bedlington has been selling information, as he is not very bright and not very well off... Francis, his dandified son, persuades him to retire from his job with the Regent and sell off the family mansion.. 

Edward proposes to Elinor, who although she finds him exasperating has fallen in love with him.   She decides to sell off the estate as quickly as possible, and to marry Edward when her period of mourning is over. 

The book has its fun moments, a lot of them related to Elinor's common sense reactions to the intrusion of spies and over large dogs into her house and her desire to concentrate on her housewifely duties. 

Reluctant Widow

 This is one of Heyer's more adventure style novels.  It is set in the countryside, during the Napoleonic Wars.
Elinor Rochdale is a young woman of 26 who has lost her parents and has no money, so she has been working as  a governess.  She takes up an appointment with a lady, and when she arrives by Stage coach to start her new job, she finds a carriage has been sent for her. She travels to the house and finds that it is rather shabby, and that a man of about 30 seems to be in charge. 

He tells her that her new charge is very difficult, and after a long conversation, she realises that she is at the wrong house.  Lord Carlyon, who has welcomed her, thought that she was a woman who had been hired from an advertisement in the papers, to marry  his wayward cousin, Eustace.  Evidently the woman hired did not turn up. 

Elinor is shaken to find that she's at a strange man's house, miles away from where her new employer is.  She tells Lord Carlyon that her father lost his fortune and shot himself, leaving her almost penniless.  Carlyon who has an estate nearby tells her that he is the eldest of a large family, and that he has always had the role of looking after his siblings. She adds that she ended up becoming a governess because her family treated her badly, as a poor relation, and she preferred to be independent, though the life of a governess is far from easy.

He tells her that if Eustace dies without a wife, his estate will pass to him, Carlyon, and he does not want the estate.  He and his cousin dont get on, and Eustace has done his reputation harm, by accusing him of bad behaviour.  He would rather not inherit the estate as it would look like he had deliberately schemed to get it. 

Carlyon then suggests that as Elinor is alone in the world and badly off, she could marry Eustace, and become heir to his estate, and while the estate is almost worthless due to mismanagement, he would provide for her.  Elinor refuses.