In Book 3 of my The Lyon’s Den Connected World book, Lyon in Disguise, the hero, Lord Navan Beaufort, an Irish earl (with also an English barony), as part of his assignment to the Home Office, trains Mrs. Dove-Lyon and her staff to recognize fake bank notes that have been flooding the streets of London. From my piece on Monday, you likely realize that part of the problem was that the Bank of England accepted a variety of bank notes (those from foreign countries, those issued by country banks, etc.) as legal tender. The problem was how do those taking the bank notes know whether the notes are forged or not? This scene from Chapter Seven will give you an idea of how difficult this must have been. This was the fourth time that Beaufort had conducted a “lesson” in spotting fake bank notes to those at Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s gaming hell, previously looking at the ink color, the lack of a wire in the paper, etc. The Irish working for Mrs. Dove-Lyon wished to argue, for the English do not treat the Irish in England well. Think of that scene in the TV version of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South with Richard Armitage looking down on the factory floor and seeing the cotton fibers in the air. Yet, as Beaufort is also Irish, he soon takes control of the situation.

“First, permit me to say,” Navan continued, “I am sympathetic with those of you who believe the Bank of England should be actively seeking the ‘inimitable bank note.’ A country as powerful as the United Kingdom should be introducing a note that is impossible to forge rather than making piecemeal adjustments to its notes. However, no one is likely to listen to an Irish earl.” 

“Or a maimed soldier,” Titan added. 

“Or a woman who is both a widow and a former . . . Well, we all know my history,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said with an audible laugh. 

“Let us come to some givens,” Navan suggested. “One issue is how country banks have been more aggressive in creating new note designs. Some have added double-sided printing and even color. Naturally, the notes are generally used in the community surrounding that particular bank, but many make it to London, along with foreign currency. All of which is accepted for payment and honored by the Bank of England. Therefore, someone might think a forged note is not actually one, but rather one of these oddities.” He handed such notes to those on either end of the rows to examine and pass on to the others to study. 

“Unfortunately, we are still using the same techniques used in the fifteenth century to print our bank notes. Yet, there are obvious advantages of using this method. It means we can still replicate the late seventh century cursive writing indicative of that time period, which is used on all legitimate notes. It is what we commonly call Gothic style. You may not have known its name, but you are accustomed to reading it. For example, on our bank notes, there is a uniform flow of the lower strokes that rest on a baseline, with a lengthened end stroke or dash turning to the right.” 

“Might you point out these specifics for us, my lord?” Titan asked. “Even I was not aware of all you just mentioned.” 

“Absolutely. Such was what I planned for today. I might finish by saying that using the same method for so long provides us considerable continuity—finished plates covered in ink and the itaglio printing on a copperplate press. The problem we face that enables forgers to know success is the government must now print notes more quickly than they did before the institution of the policy of Bank Restriction.”

“How do we recognize the forged notes?” Titan asked. “We all should know this so even a shopkeeper does not pass on a bad note to us in our everyday dealings.” 

“We have previously looked at the quality of the ink,” Beaufort explained, “and we should continue to do so. Now, we must also look at the quality of the paper being used. The Bank of England’s watermark changed from straight lines to wavy ones to make the notes more difficult to duplicate. There is also a thin wire sewn into the paper mold. The newly formed paper is left to dry over the wire. 

“Most of the other necessary tools required for a forgery are easy to find—all, in fact, except for the paper. So let us examine the paper of several legitimate notes and compare them to a handful of forgeries—some quite skillful attempts and others who should be ashamed of their efforts.”

So What Is Gothic Writing?

Latin Paleography tells us, “othic is characterized by curves and Beneventan by shafts; Jacques Boussard (Boussard, Influences) pointed out that this type of pen, and broken writing, was already in use in the 11th century in insular monasteries and it is from here that the origins of Gothic may be found. The prevailing hypothesis, however, and the one that is most supported in scholarship is that Gothic is a direct derivation of Caroline.

“The shape of the letters remains that of Caroline, but is nevertheless executed with a different technique, due precisely to the use of the pen cut on the left. The result is a much more compact and heavier script, apparently far from the lightness and the airiness of Caroline. Although many variations developed over time and in the different European regions, the graphic style of Gothic maintains some constant general characteristics:

• angularity and broken aspect of the curves;
• tight and narrow appearance of writing on the line, with letters written very close to each other and with lines also very close;
• small development of the top of the shafts and brevity of the few at the bottom;
• uniform flow of the lower strokes that rest on the baseline, with a lengthened endstroke or dash turning to the right;
• some other features such as: the simple e in place of the diphthong ae/oe, use of thin serifs on the i, a high number of abbreviations.

“Other special features include:

particular majuscule alphabet (exaggerated forms with increased dimensions and duplication of stokes from the Uncial alphabet and some elements of Capital script).

use of majuscule s (instead of high) at the end of the word;

use of high v at the beginning of the word;

use of ç (c with cedilla) for the z;frequent use of the sign C conversum (a kind of inverted c) for con/cum;

use (ordinary from the second half of the 12th century) of q2 per quia;”

Lyon in Disguise: Lyon’s Den Connected World 

A handsome rake meets his match in a red-headed enchantress who is his enemy!

They may be on different sides of the law, but Lord Navan Beaufort is not going to permit that to stop him from protecting Miss Audrey Moreau. Navan has never thought truly to love anyone, but when he laid eyes on the red-headed beauty, his world shifted. Unfortunately, the lady appears to prefer Lord Alexander Dutton to him, though Navan has rarely had the opportunity to speak to her privately. That is, until he saves her from a fire one miraculous night. From there forward, she is his hope. His future.

Miss Audrey Moreau depends exclusively on her Uncle Jacobi for a home and protection. The man rescued her from a bayman’s plantation in the West Indies when she was five; yet, she well knows the “Marquis of Honfleur’s” schemes. She thought once Jacobi was caught, all would be well, but even from his jail, the man means to rain down harm upon her.

Can two lost souls find happiness together, when everyone in whom they had previously placed their trust have left them alone in the world?

Tropes You’ll Love:

• Enemies to lovers
• Self-declared bachelor
• Friends to lovers
• Adversaries
• Damsel in distress
• Best friend’s sister
• Different worlds/experiences
• Soul mates
• Emotional scars
• Fish out of water

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

Enjoy book one in a new series within The Lyon’s Den Connected world by Regina Jeffers.

Book 1 – Lyon in the Way

Book 2 – Lyon’s Obsession

Book 3 – Lyon in Disguise

Book 4 – Lost in the Lyon’s Garden

Book 5 – Lyon on the Inside

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1V963YZ

Please Note: The price of this book will increase to $3.99 on 11/26/2025.