There are tales of footmen who experienced criticism and mild taunts when they went about their master’s business. Even so, the footman became a sort of symbol of the division in society. Reports abound of street urchins throwing mud on their uniforms and white stocking. Some even reported those who attempted to prick the footman’s legs to see if he were wearing “falsies” to make his legs appear to have more muscular curves. Footmen also knew some disparagement from upper servants in the house.
However, many managed to develop a certain resplendence while out and about on their master’s business. In full dress livery, they wore white gloves and a hat, often set at a jaunty slant. Later in the century, they wore a top hat with a colorful cockade. In some houses, they also had an indoor livery that could include a dress coat with brass buttons stamped with the lord’s crest (rather than a tailed coat), pumps (instead of buckled shoes), and a white tie. The daily powdering of the hair was not a pleasure. The process involved a stiff lather produced with plenty of soap and water. The hair was combed so that their grooved (evenly spaced) lines in it to which the powder or flour was applied. At night, the footman had to wash his hair and add oil to fee it from the clogging detritus.
Footmen were chosen for their height (and for their handsome countenance, especially in the service of a lady’s household). The preference was six feet or taller. For each inch over six feet, the man was generally paid extra. In most households, footmen were matched in height. In that manner, none stood out from the rest. They were trained to perform as one, and they prided themselves on their presentation at a door when escorting their mistress about Town.
Typically, three footmen were required for the better households. The first footman served as the mistress’s footman. He prepared her early morning and breakfast trays, walked her dogs, cleaned her shoes, brushed the mud from her riding habit and hems of her dresses, and cleaned/scrubbed the silver coins to disinfect them after tradesmen handled them. The first footman served the meals at the master’s house. He accompanied his lady when she dined at another’s home without her husband. He stood behind her chair to increase the appearance of rank and status. He was often charged with the duty of paying toll gates, hired carriages, and postage, expense reimbursed to him by the house steward. He was ironically called “James,” no matter his Christian name.
Alfred Nugent, Footman – played by Matt Milne
The second footman assisted in preparing the table for the midday meal, and along with the first footman served the meals. He would occasionally be assigned the duty of acting as valet to the eldest son of the lord. He regularly cleaned all the mirrors in the house. (Think of all the mirrors Sir Walter had at Kellynch Hall in Jane Austen’s “Persuasion.”) Meanwhile, the third footman was responsible for carrying in the coal, wood, etc. His duties varied greatly.
Footmen traveled with the family carriage, no matter the weather or the time of day. He also cleaned the plate, a task he often shared with the under butler. This was a tiresome duty. Cleaning the gold or silver plate involved first sponging off the grease before the moistened plate powder was rubbed in (by hand). The longer the powder was rubbed, the greater the shine. Afterward, the powder was brushed from the surface, with special care given to the crevices of crests and ornamental work. Think of polishing the area between the prongs of a fork. Yes, that was part of the process.
Rob James-Collier as Thomas Barrow
Footmen served a lengthy apprenticeship. Some used this training to apply for positions as valets or butler. (Were you thinking of Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey?)
Resources:
James Fennimore Cooper, England, Bentley, 1837, Vol. 1, page 188.
Frank E. Huggett, Life Below Stairs: Domestic Servants in England from Victorian Times, Book Club Associates, 1977.
Thomas Webster. An Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy, Longmans, 1844, pages 330-331.
Previously, I introduce you to my novel, His Irish Eve. The events of that particular novel lead up to the hero and heroine being caught in the melee of the Peterloo Massacre. The year is 1819, and Adam Lawrence, Viscount Stafford, recognizes the need to leave the old ways of the aristocracy behind; however, his father, the Earl of Greenwall, is not so receptive to the changes sweeping across England after the Napoleonic Wars and on the edge of the Industrial Revolution. So, what exactly happened at St. Peter’s Field in Manchester?
A depiction of the Peterloo Massacre by Richard Carlile – Public Domain
On August 16, 1819, the Peterloo Massacre occurred at St. Peter’s Field in Manchester. A crowd of 60,000-80,000 gathered to protest the lack of parliamentary representation for the heavily populated industrialized areas.
With the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Corn Laws exacerbated the famine of the Year without Summer (1816) and the growing unemployment problems. By the beginning of 1819 the pressure generated by poor economic conditions, coupled with the lack of suffrage in northern England, enhanced the appeal of political radicalism. In response, the Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform, organized a demonstration to be addressed by the well-known radical orator Henry Hunt.
Fearing the worst, local magistrates called on the military to dispense with the crowd. They also demanded the arrest of Hunt and the other featured speakers. The Cavalry charged the crowd with sabers drawn. In the melee, 15 people were killed and some 500+ were injured. The massacre was given the name Peterloo, an ironic comparison to the devastation found at the Battle of Waterloo. The Peterloo Massacre became a defining moment of the age. Unfortunately, the massacre’s immediate effect was the passage of the Six Acts, which labelled any meeting for radical reform as “an overt act” of treasonable conspiracy.
It also led directly to the foundation of The Manchester Guardian, but had little other effect on the pace of reform. In a survey conducted by The Guardian in 2006, Peterloo came second to the Putney Debates as the event from British history that most deserved a proper monument or a memorial. A plaque close to the site, a replacement for an earlier one that was criticized as being inadequate, as it did not reflect the scale of the massacre, commemorates Peterloo.
In 2018 for the 200th Anniversary, Peterloo was released. It written and directed by Mike Leigh, based on the the events of that day. The film received its UK premiere on 17 October 2018, as part of the BFI London Film Festival, at HOME in Manchester.The screening marked the first time that the festival had held a premiere outside London. Leigh said he was delighted that Peterloo would be premiered “where it happened”.
When the Earl of Greenwall demands his only son, Viscount Stafford, retrieve the viscount’s by-blow, everything in ADAM LAWRENCE’s life changes. Six years prior, Lawrence released his former mistress Cathleen Donnell from his protection, only to learn in hindsight Cathleen was with child. Stafford arrives in Cheshire to discover not only a son, but also two daughters, along with a strong-minded woman, who fascinates him from the moment of their first encounter.
AOIFE KENNICE, the children’s cousin and caregiver, is a woman impervious to Stafford’s masculine charms, as one of England’s most infamous rakes. In truth, Aoife is not as immune as she pretends, but she cannot imagine herself as the object of more than a flirtation on the part of the viscount. On balance, they are world’s apart: Aoife is daughter of a minor Irish baron and the opposite of her beautiful cousin Cathleen, who possessed all the skills to lure in a handsome viscount. To make matters worst, Aoife maintains the family’s a sheep farm to support Stafford’s family. A “lady,” Aoife is not.
A battle begins: A fight Adam must win–a fight for the heart of a woman worth knowing, his Irish “Eve.”
______________________________________
Excerptfrom part of Adam’s and Aoife’s struggles to reach safety during the melee known as the Peterloo Massacre. Adam planned to meet Aoife at the park and to propose transforms into a confrontation with soldiers and political reformation.
… Sheltering the children before her, Aoife held her ground against those who would push her from the way. Jonesboro cupped her with his body, absorbing the elbows and jabs rather than permitting her to suffer. She was most grateful for the kindness of his lordship’s valet.
Aoife wished she had never agreed to meet Lord Stafford at this program. All along, she sensed disaster lay dormant, just waiting to rear its ugly head. Early on, Aoife assumed her misgivings had to do with her parting from Lord Stafford; now, she held different ideas.
Apprehension ruled Aoife’s every thought as she surveyed the best way to maneuver the children from danger’s presence. She hoped that when the speeches started, the people would cease their jostling of others in order to listen, but that did not prove true. A quick look around solidified her resolve; fearing for the children’s safety, Aoife decided staying at the event would prove detrimental for all concerned.
Even if Lord Stafford made no appearance, Aoife would not wait to hear Hunt and Richard Carlile. Her intuition warned that something was not right; she could feel it in her gut.
* * *
Expecting any second to see them, Adam looked up and down the street, but even with all the children in the crowd, none of them were his.
“Where are they?” he mumbled and worriedly examined his watch again. Twenty past the hour – five minutes longer than Adam intended to wait. Turning on his heels, he started towards the gate before hearing a familiar voice call out. Adam turned to see his footman hurrying towards him.
“Ferguson!” He rushed to meet the man. “Where are Jonesboro and my family?”
The footman made a quick bow.
“By the stage, sir. Miss Kennice said the crowd was too large to bring the children through it.”
“By the stage?”
Adam’s eyes declared his panic.
“The authorities are sending soldiers to keep the peace.”
He was moving to the staging area with the others, pressing his way towards his family. Towards Aoife.
“Hurry, Ferguson, they are in danger.”
The crowd swallowed them as Adam led the way, an anxious dread filling his lungs as he squeezed between families and workers.
* * *
In concern, the crowd edged forward when the main speakers took to the stage. In addition to Henry Hunt, who was billed as the main speaker, Joseph Johnson, John Knight, and Richard Carlile moved to a position of authority upon the raised platform. In a counter maneuver, the constables, who formed two continuous lines between the hustings and some place along the street where people entered the park, pushed back in unison against the milling crowd.
To Aoife’s horror, those around her refused to move. The throng pressed Aoife, Jonesboro, and the children uncomfortably against the staging area.
Tempers flared and faded. Words of contempt and hatred exploded, and raised fists accented the anger. As a murmur of discontent rose from those around her, Aoife pulled the children closer. She bent to whisper to Daniel.
“If I tell you to move, I want you to take the girls and hide under the speaker’s stand.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The boy’s eyes grew in size.
“The crowd is too large, but we must wait for Lord Stafford.”
She held no desire to frighten the boy, but Aofe thought it necessary for him to be aware of what occurred him.
“Stay close, children,” she warned, standing again to survey the onlookers, protecting Lord Stafford’s children – her children, really –b y closeting them close to her legs, her arms draped over the girls’ shoulders.
* * *
Adam cut a direct course to where Aoife reportedly stood, but the special constables shoved all comers away, including him. He thought of arguing, reminding these locals he was part of the aristocracy, but he had no time for reason, only for action.
“This way,” he called to Ferguson as they circled around the edge of the crowd, in order to penetrate the line.
When the speakers took the stage, the open space separating onlookers shrank dramatically. Adam squeezed between a man and his wife, offering words of apology as he went. His mind rested purely on the danger, which surrounded them.
He overheard one of the constables grumble, “Nadin is crazy if he thinks I am going to arrest Hunt before all these people. It would be suicide.”
The words spurred Adam to double his efforts, but no matter what he did, he could not escape the growing crowd surrounding him. People pressed him, choking every point of entry or exit –extinguishing his hopes of reaching Aoife before trouble began.
“Your lordship!”
Ferguson caught his shoulder, staying Adam’s progress.
“Look.”
Adam turned his head sharply in the direction Ferguson pointed.
“Oh, my God!”
The words exploded. From the direction cleared by the constables, yeomen entered the area from Portland Street, sabers drawn against those who locked arms, closing the pathway created by the constables. As the yeomen breached the line of onlookers, Adam surged through the opening with Ferguson close on his heels.
* * *
Aoife noted the soldiers when they entered the field. Only moments before, yeomen pushed through the crowd. The one closest to her, when he passed, reeked of alcohol and sweat and fear.
Unfortunately, the spectators reacted before Aoife could do anything to protect the children. The peaceful crowd of a few minutes prior took offense at the authority’s intrusion and set up a wall of people to protect the speakers. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the lookers-on dared the irrational yeomanry to make a move in the direction of the crowd’a “exulted” guests. The column, which created earlier by the constables, collapsed around the intruders, and pure chaos broke loose.
In terror, Aoife watched as the yeomanry pulled their sabers and hacked away at those closest to them.
“Disperse them!” someone behind her ordered.
“Aoife!” Elaine’s sweet voice held real urgency.
“I have you, Poppet.”
She caught the child around the waist and pushed her under the raised dais. Meanwhile, Jonesboro shoved Daniel and Aileen in the same direction.
“Work your way towards the center, and do not come out until I tell you to,” Aoife urged.
“Ma’am?” Daniel questioned.
“It shall be well, Daniel.”
Aoife squeezed the child’s hand and then shoved his head low so he could follow his sisters into the maze of wooden supports bracing the raised platforms. She saw him catch Aileen’s hand to lead his sisters away from the melee.
Frightened, Aoife turned frantically to look where Jonesboro now tussled with a local law officer. Officers struck onlookers indiscriminately.
“Leave him alone,” Aoife charged forward, hands on her hips, taking an authoritative stance.
Without thinking, the officer swung his arm around as he tried wrestled Jonesboro to the ground. His upper arm caught Aoife on the butt of her chin, knocking her backward, sending her sprawling in a very unladylike “thump” to the hardened earth.
Shaking her head to clear it, Aoife rolled onto her side to right herself, pulling her knees up under her to fight her way to her feet again. Looking about her, she spotted the officer, who held Jonesboro in a strangle hold and who dragged his lordship’s valet away from where Aoife waited. A distinctive strangled sound filled her with fear. Acting instinctively, Aoife covered the short distance to launch herself at the officer, jumping on the man’s back and pummeling him with her fists.
“Release him!” she screamed.
* * *
To Adam’s perturbation, a mounted officer charged into the fracas surrounding him.
“No!” Adam yelled, freezing those around him in a terrible tableau. However, the officer continued his assault. The man struck the woman who blocked his way: the baby she held flying from her arms. The child’s blanket unfurled, giving the impression of the infamous tales of flying carpets, and then the tiny body, suspended momentarily, crashed violently to the ground. A thud, which Adam felt in his bones as he bent to scoop the babe’s form from the ground. His heart pounded in his ears, as the broken frame hung loosely in his grasp. The child’s thin arms sagged without life at its side.
The woman rushed forward to snatch the child from Adam’s hold. Wailing disconsolately, she sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she clutched the baby to her breast. Adam reached for her, desperately wishing to offer his comfort, but his footman’s voice stayed his actions.
“Come!” Ferguson urged as he grabbed Adam’s arm.
Looking about a bit unhinged, Adam realized his goal remained unearned. Staggering to his feet, he spun toward the stage. Horror-stricken, he could see Aoife across the field, a hundred yards away.
With the popularity of Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey, the populace has become more aware of the British servant class. So what do we know of those who lived “below stairs”? First, rank and precedence ruled those of the servant class as much as it did their masters. What was known as the “pugs procession” was commonplace among servants. Instead of the chatty scenes between upper and lower servants on Downtown Abbey, most household were ruled by “silence.” All the servants would take their dinner together in the servants’ hall, but then the upper servants (the house steward, the butler, and the housekeeper) would move to a private sitting room for their dessert.
Being neither seen nor heard would be the order of the day. It was not unusual for maids to turn and face the wall if she encountered her master or mistress in the passageways. The upper housemaids were responsible for the appearance of the rooms. They addressed the draperies, the floral arrangements, the chair covers, etc. The under housemaids did the physical duties of laying a fire, polishing, cleaning the grates, etc. In Letters from England, Elizabeth Davis Bancroft, the wife of the U.S. Minister to England (1846-49), wrote, “The division of labour, or rather ceremonies, between the butler and the footman I have now mastered, I believe in some degree, but that between the upper and under housemaid is still a profound mystery to me, though the upper has explained to me for the twentieth time that she did only ‘the top of the work.”
Richard Henry Dana, son of the author of Two Years Before the Mast, spoke of a similar demarcation of duties in his Hospitable England in the Seventies. Dana had been invited to spend some time with Earl Spencer at Althorp. He and Lord Charles Bruce wished to play some lawn tennis, but they could find no one to whitewash the court’s markings in the grass. It seems that the job belonged to the “man-of-all-work,” but the servant was no where to be found. Dana said, “Neither the gardener, nor the footmen, nor the valets, nor the bootblacks nor, of course, the maids would help. Our hostess knew this so well that she did not even ask them.”
Servants did receive certain “compensations” for their service. They had a roof over their heads and four full meals per day – breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper. If they were enterprising enough, they could also have the remains of the masters’ meals. They received either a pint of home brewed beer (half pint for women) with each meal or a beer money allowance, usually 8d per day. The upper servants often were provided with wine for their meals. Wages were paid quarterly. Except for clothing, servants had few expenses, and a wise servant could save enough for a nest egg, to start a small business, or assist his struggling family. Loyal servants received pensions of £20 to £25. Smart upper servants could “earn” extra funds from tradesmen seeking the master’s business. The cook, traditionally, claimed the roast’s drippings as her own. The butler and footmen laid claimed to the candle butts. A smart butler might siphon off some of the master’s wine stock, either a decanter at a time or a whole bottle.
In “Life Below Stairs” by Frank Huggett, there is a list of wages (1888) from the records of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon paid out to the duke’s servants for a year’s service:
the house steward £100
the groom of the chamber £70
the valet, the housekeeper, and the cook £60 each
the butler £45
the footmen £26 to £34
the ladies’ maids £26 to £28
the stillroom maid £22
the kitchen maids £14 to £24
the housemaids and laundry maids £12 to £26
the scullery maid £12
Servants also EXPECTED to receive a tip from the master’s guests. A guest would be leave a half-sovereign for the housemaid in honor of the condition she maintained his quarters, a sovereign for the groom of the chambers for lighting the candles each evening, likewise a sovereign for the butler for his personal advice and favors and a footman who acted as valet to a gentleman traveling without his personal servant. A guest might also tip the gamekeeper, etc. etc., etc. The list could easily grow to a tidy sum. Even visitors making tours of great estates were expected to tip the housekeepers guiding their tours.
And Heaven help the guest who did not meet his obligations. Upon his next visit, he might be housed in a drafty chamber or find his cut of meat the least desirable ones.
Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and a touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist not only loved him but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
When I first purchase the cover image for Taming Lord Truist, I asked the designer London Montgomery Covers for a few changes. I have used more than a dozen covers from this designer and highly recommend his work. For this one, though, I required a tweak. Though I liked the female model, there was a modern skyline at the bottom (think a New York City style skyline). Therefore, I asked that something from the Regency era be used instead. I also asked that the pierced earrings be removed, but earrings are not the topic of today’s post, but rather the Tower of London.
In my story, as a birthday celebration, Lord August Truist takes his new wife to the Tower. Now, that might not sound so romantic, but, you see, Eleanor’s London experience is VERY limited. His brother and sister accompany them, and they all decided to be “London tourists,” not residents.
The Tower of London has stood for more than 900 years. It has served as a royal residence, a prison, a fort, and a tourist attraction. The last state prisoner to be held in the Tower, Rudolf Hess, the deputy leader of the Nazi Party, in May 1941. The last person to be executed in the Tower, Josef Jakobs, Nazi spy, shot by a firing squad on 15 August 1941. The last people to be held in the Tower, the Kray twins. They were members of organized crime syndicate and were arrested in 1968.
However, did you know that for more than 600 years there was a famous menagerie housed within the tower’s walls. It housed ostriches and elephants and lions and polar bears and many more exotic animals. The Constable of the Tower, no other than the Duke of Wellington, dispatched the Royal Menagerie from the Tower to an area of Regent’s Park in December 1831. The Menagerie closed for good in 1835, with many remaining animals sold to other zoos or travelling circuses.
Some amusing facts about the Tower of London and its exotic animals:
King John was the first ruler to bring animals to the Tower of London. He established a menagerie near the western entrance to the tower. That would have been around the year 1200.
Lion keepers were hired around 1210. These lions were said to be Barbary lions, which are now on the extinction list. The Barbary lion was a population of the lion subspecies Panthera leo leo. It was also called North African lion, Atlas lion and Egyptian lion. It lived in the mountains and deserts of the Maghreb of North Africa from Morocco to Egypt. It was eradicated following the spread of firearms and bounties for shooting lions.
Sultan, a Barbary lion in the Bronx Zoo, 1897 ~ Public Domain ~ Wikipedia
The first lion keepers were employed around 1210. Henry III received three “leopards” from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in an offer to strengthen diplomatic ties. These leopards were likely Barbary lions, for they were supposedly an homage to Richard III’s coat of arms.
Henry III “started” the Tower of London zoo. At that time, only the privileged guests were permitted to view the king’s collection of animals.
Edward I, in the 1270s, moved the menagerie to the front entrance of the Tower, so all those coming and going (including prisoners) received a large dose of fear at the paws of roaring lions and stamping elephants.
King Haakon IV of Norway sent Henry III a polar bear to join the other exotic animals at the Tower. Henry III was not best pleased to learn how expensive it was for the feed and care of a polar bear. Ordinary citizens were permitted access to view the polar bear as the animal was permitted to “fish” in the River Thames, and he was often viewed by people along the bank.
In 1255, an elephant was brought to London from the Holy Land and the Crusades. People were stunned to touch its rough skin/hide.
Henry III instituted a tax on Londoners so he might have a large “house” built to contain the elephant. Yet, the elephant did live to see the habitat created, for his foolish handlers did not realize an elephant is not a carnivore. Moreover, they gave it a gallon of wine wine to drink each day. After all, something belonging to the king could not be expected to drink plain water.
Hearing of the mismanagement of the first elephant, in 1623, the Spanish king. Philip IV, sent another elephant, but with strict instructions that the animal could only be given wine from September to April of each year.
Under Elizabeth I’s reign, people would be admitted free to the exhibit if they brought a dog or a cat to feed to the lion.
In both my novella, “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride” (part of the Regency Summer Weddings Anthology) and my upcoming release of “Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo,” my characters leave England to travel to and through Ireland. However, as I soon learned when conducting research to support my tales, reaching Ireland was one thing. Traveling through it was another.
To begin, one must recall these stories were both set before the age of steam (first introduced in 1819). This was a time when traveling from London, England, to Dublin, Ireland, was a week’s journey, at a minimum. There were four main ports along the English/Welsh/Scottish borders to the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea where people could make the journey to Ireland. (1) In England, one could board in Bristol and travel to Cork City (which I will give more information on below, for that was not as easy as one might think); (2) One could travel from Liverpool, England, to Dublin, Ireland; (3) One could also travel to Dublin from Holyhead in Wales; or, finally, (4) One could travel from Port Patrick in Scotland to Donaghadee in County Down, Ireland.
The crossing itself could take 16 to 20 hours on an average, for the passage was entirely dependent on the weather. Some ships even turned back because of the unpredictability of the weather. Upon more than one occasion, a ship found itself setting becalmed in the waters for a day or more and waiting for favorable trade winds. Those who traveled from Bristol to Cork City often also encountered French or Spanish privateers.
Originally, I thought it would be easier to send my characters through Cork City, for I knew something of the modern day harbor. I was wrong. Completely wrong. The Port of Cork is situated at the south western end of the island. Cork Harbour is situated in the centre of the southern seaboard facing south to the Atlantic. In the 17th C, the Port of Cork was seen “as a distribution centre for its hinterland by trans-shipment. (Patrick Flanagan, “The Cork Region, c.1600-c.1900,” Perspectives on Cork, Special Publication No. 10 (Dublin Geographical Society of Ireland, 1998, pg. 3)
In 1800, Cork Port was unregulated as regards to shipping and had no port authority to oversee it. Instead, it was controlled by the Cork Corporation, a municipal authority. It was in a poor state of maintenance and was in urgent need to of repair. “In 1813 (when my stories are set), only small vessels drawing 11 feet of water [could] enter Cork city during high water on berthing at Cork had to be aground on a gravel bottom to discharge. The lower harbour was only three feet deep in places and large vessels had to unload cargo onto lighters. All of this added to the time and cost of vessels visiting the port. (Patrick J McCarthy, “An Economic History of the Port of Cork: 1813-1900,” unpublished M. EconSc. thesis (Cork: University College Cork, 1949) 12-13).
In 1813, the Butter Weighhouse Act was passed to improve the harbour and river of Cork. One-third of the fees received by the Weighmaster from the butter trade in the city went to a commission made up of 21 merchants of the city to improve, deepen and widen the port’s accessibility. In 1814, the “Cocket and Entry Tax Act (also known as “The Commercial Buildings Act”) was imposed as another form of revenue. It was a tax on customs documents, rather than the value of the goods. The Cork Harbour Act did not come about until 1820. (Mary Lantry, “The Cocket Tax in Cork: A Tax in the Context of its Time and Place,” unpublished MA thesis, Cork: University College Cork, 2018)
Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and a touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist not only loved him but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
If you have not yet read Loving Lord Lindmore: Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo, it is on sale on Amazon for only $0.99 until August 16. Grab it for this weekend and be ready for Taming Lord Truist on Monday.
Loving Lord Lindmore: Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
LADY CORA TAKES SOCIETY BY STORM . . .
Lady Cora Midland, a highly-spirited country beauty, offers no pretensions, which wins many admirers, despite her lack of knowledge on how to manage the beau monde. However, Matthew Harrington believes she is taking advantage of his elderly grandmother, and he means to put a stop to the girl.
LORD MATTHEW LINDMORE IS IN DENIAL . . .
Lindmore reluctantly assists his grandmother in bringing Lady Cora out in Society. Yet, what appeared to be a daunting task becomes a transformation the earl does not expect. He finds the woman as delightful, as do others in the haut ton. Yet…
When Lady Cora is on the the verge of marrying another, Lindmore fears time will expire before he can speak his own proposal.
GIVEAWAY: I have 5 eBook copies to give away to those who comment on any or all the promotional posts for TAMING LORD TRUIST‘s release. The eBooks will be presented on August 12, the release date.
Since the first of the year, I have written two stories in which Regency era Ireland plays a role. The first of those was a novella entitled “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride,” which was part of the Regency Summer Weddings Anthology.
Lord Fearghal’s English Bride
HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT
Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience.
HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART
Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love
In Taming Lord Truist, the heroine’s parents, though having lived in England for many years, also had an estate in Ireland, where Lady Eleanor Truist retreats without telling her husband where she is going. I shan’t explain the necessity of her action, for that is a major plot point, but Eleanor chooses to return to an area close to Clogheen and Tubrid.
Clogheen lies in the Galtee-Vee Valley with the Galtee Mountains to the north and the Knockmealdowns in close proximity to the south. The River Tar runs through the village. The first substantial records of the village date from the Cromwellian period, but the village did not come to note until the 18th and 19th centuries. It then became a local centre of trade and commerce. The village takes its modern form from the 19th century with a wide area that was formerly the Market Square (and still named so) and a number of townhouses in the Georgian style. Cloghee sets about 50 miles from Cork City.
Tubrid or Tubbrid was formerly a civil and ecclesiastical parish situated between the towns of Cahir and Clogheen in County Tipperary, Ireland. A cluster of architectural remains at the old settlement still known as Tubrid includes an ancient cemetery and two ruined churches of regional historical significance.
According to Power, the parish derives its name from the well (Tobraid Chiaráin) at which St. Declan (“Declan” is the surname for two of the characters in the book) baptised a local infant named Ciaran, who in time became a noted holy figure. It was said of Ciarán (Ciaran Mac Eochaidh) that he founded a monastery in the locality and that:
He worked many miracles and holy signs and this is the name of his monastery Tiprut [Tubrid] and this is where it is:–in the western part of the Decies in Ui Faithe between Slieve Grot (Galtee) and Sieve Cua and it is within the bishopric of Declan.
This holy well near the site, was in previous times a place of pilgrimage. St. Ciaran is remembered in the name of the church at Ballylooby. There was also, until recent times, an annual mass celebrated at this location. To the front of the site is the former local schoolhouse which was completed soon after the construction of St. John’s and is in danger of falling into a dilapidated condition. [That schoolhouse has its fictional beginning in this story.]
Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and a touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist not only loved him but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
There was a soft tap on the door of her hotel room in Cork. Yet, Eleanor did not open it immediately. Instead, she said, “Yes?”
“It’s Sean Declan, Mrs. Banks. Me uncle in London sent word to meet you here.”
Eleanor released the lock and opened the door to the man. “Thank you for coming.”
“My condolences regardin’ the passin’ of yer father. Many of us be surprised to learn of yer loss. Aidan Wilder be a good man.”
Eleanor nodded her gratitude. “I pray you may see me safely to my father’s former house near Tubrid.”
“This time of year will be wetter than we might like. By horse be best. Easier than the Old Cork Road going towards the west.”
“I had considered such would be true,” she admitted.
“It be easier than coming in at Waterford where it be more mountainous, and, perhaps even an early snow.”
“I pray you may return for supplies for those upon my father’s estate. I would have you choose items now, but my fortune will only go so far, and I wish to address the more critical needs first.”
Remarkably, Mr. Declan smiled. “You’ll do well, Mrs. Banks. I be confident those on Wilder land will be glad for your coming. Dare I ask of Mr. Banks?”
“You may not,” she said with a lift of her chin in challenge.
“Yer business, ma’am,” Mr. Declan said with a nod of acceptance. “Might’n we depart on Monday morning? Expectin’ fair weather for the next few days, but I must arrange for the horses and perhaps a mule to tote your trunks.”
They discussed the specifics of their journey. Then Mr. Declan left her for the evening. Closing the door behind the man, she said with tears forming in her eyes, “I did not think it would be done so quickly, August. However, how shall I be done with how much I love you?”
If you have not yet read Loving Lord Lindmore: Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo grab yourself a copy while you may. It is only $0.99 until August 12, 2024.
LADY CORA TAKES SOCIETY BY STORM . . .
Lady Cora Midland, a highly-spirited country beauty, offers no pretensions, which wins many admirers, despite her lack of knowledge on how to manage the beau monde. However, Matthew Harrington believes she is taking advantage of his elderly grandmother, and he means to put a stop to the girl.
LORD MATTHEW LINDMORE IS IN DENIAL . . .
Lindmore reluctantly assists his grandmother in bringing Lady Cora out in Society. Yet, what appeared to be a daunting task becomes a transformation the earl does not expect. He finds the woman as delightful, as do others in the haut ton. Yet…
When Lady Cora is on the the verge of marrying another, Lindmore fears time will expire before he can speak his own proposal.
GIVEAWAY: I have 5 eBook copies to give away to those who comment on any or all the promotional posts for TAMING LORD TRUIST‘s release. The eBooks will be presented on August 12, the release date.
Hornsey High Street in 1873, with the old Three Compasses pub building in the centre ~ Public Domain – Wikipedia
In my tale, Taming Lord Truist, Lord Augustus Banks, 9th Earl Truist, keeps his mistress in the borough of Hornsey. He first took on Miss Sarah Darling when he was straight out of university. He has always fancied himself somewhat in love with the woman, though he knows he cannot marry her, for she is but a very poor former governess.
Hornsey is between 7 and 8 miles north of London proper. The name Hornsey has its origin in the Saxon period and is derived from the name of a Saxon chieftain called Haering. Haering’s Hege meant Haering’s enclosure. The earliest-written form of the name was recorded as Harenhg’ in about 1195. Its development thereafter gave rise to the modern-day names of Harringay (the district of London), the London Borough of Haringey and Hornsey. Hornsey Village developed along what is now Hornsey High Street, and in the seventeenth century it was bisected by the New River that crossed the village in three places: first at the end of Nightingale Lane, secondly from behind the Three Compasses and lastly, as it does now, at the bottom of Tottenham Lane. Hornsey is relatively old, being originally a village that grew up along Hornsey High Street, at the eastern end of which is the churchyard and tower of the former St Mary’s parish church, which was first mentioned in 1291. At the western end is Priory Park. This was the administrative centre of the historically broad parish.
Book Blurb:
Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and a touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist not only loved him but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
They were through the main course when Mr. Speaks stepped up beside August’s setting and extended a silver salver. “From Hornsey, sir,” the man whispered.
August snatched the message from the tray and looked to Eleanor, who was conversing with Lady Marlow, though his wife’s eyes briefly met his. Worry crossed her expression, but was quickly captured and placed from sight.
“Serve the next course, Mr. Speaks,” he ordered and slid the note into his inside pocket. He held no doubt that somehow Eleanor knew the source of the note. It had been more than a month since he had called on Sarah. She had never sent him any type of communication, especially not to his home, which meant something had happened which required his attention.
He noted the slight shake of Lord Lindmore’s head, but what was August to do? What if Sarah was ill? Had she been attacked? “Please carry on. I must address this. I humbly beg your pardon. I shan’t be long.”
His wife continued to chatter on to Lady Marlowe, but he could tell by the tone of her voice that she knew true concern.
August paused briefly to claim her hand where it rested on the table and to squeeze the back of it. He wished to apologize, for he held no doubt whichever choice he made—however he chose to act this evening—he would break Eleanor’s heart. He despised what he was about to do to her, for she was the most caring and gracious soul he had ever encountered. With a strength he admired in her, Eleanor nodded her permission for him to continue on.
He left the supper room and crossed into the library, where he reclaimed the note from his pocket. With his hands shaking, he broke the wax seal, expecting to read the worst. Instead, it said, “There’s a fire. S.”
“A fire?” he asked himself. “Where? Her house? Is she in danger?”
He was still looking at the sheet of rough paper when Lindmore slipped into the room. “What the hell has gotten into you? You left your wife to face your mother’s cronies alone!”
“There is a fire in Hornsey,” he said, not considering either the tone or volume of his voice.
“Shush,” Lindmore cautioned, catching August’s arm to drag him deeper into the room. “Please tell me you are not thinking of riding to Hornsey. You cannot leave your wife while you chase after your mistress. Such is unacceptable, Truist.”
“What if the house is on fire?” he asked in a panic.
Lindmore shushed him again. “First, if the house was on fire, why would Miss Darling take the time to write you a note to that effect? Moreover, if the house was on fire when the lady wrote the note, the building would be burned to the ground by now. Hornsey is nearly eight miles from here. That would be more than an hour by horseback for the note to arrive at Truehold House, and it will be another hour for you to reach her. Do you not think it a bit too convenient that during the evening you make a public appearance with Lady Eleanor that your mistress sends you a cryptic note? Have you heard from the woman even once in all these weeks of your marriage? Have you even called upon Miss Darling in all that time?”
“No. But Sarah is not of the same nature as other mistresses,” he argued.
Now on sale until August 16, 2024, Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo. If you have not yet read Loving Lord Lindmore, claim your copy while it is only $0.99.
Loving Lord Lindmore: Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
LADY CORA TAKES SOCIETY BY STORM . . .
Lady Cora Midland, a highly-spirited country beauty, offers no pretensions, which wins many admirers, despite her lack of knowledge on how to manage the beau monde. However, Matthew Harrington believes she is taking advantage of his elderly grandmother, and he means to put a stop to the girl.
LORD MATTHEW LINDMORE IS IN DENIAL . . .
Lindmore reluctantly assists his grandmother in bringing Lady Cora out in Society. Yet, what appeared to be a daunting task becomes a transformation the earl does not expect. He finds the woman as delightful, as do others in the haut ton. Yet…
When Lady Cora is on the the verge of marrying another, Lindmore fears time will expire before he can speak his own proposal.
GIVEAWAY: I have 5 eBook copies to give away to those who comment on any or all the promotional posts for TAMING LORD TRUIST‘s release. The eBooks will be presented on August 12, the release date.
Our garden is putting in order by a man who bears a remarkably good character, has a very fine complexion, and asks something less than the first. The shrubs which border the gravel walk, he says, are only sweetbriar and roses, and the latter of an indifferent sort; we mean to get a few of a better kind, therefore, and at my own particular desire he procures us some syringas. I could not do without a syringa, for the sake of Cowper’s line. We talk also of a laburnum. The border under the terrace wall is clearing away to receive currants and gooseberry bushes, and a spot is found very proper for raspberries. ~ Letter to her sister Cassandra from Jane Austen, 8 February 1807.
As some of you know, I consider working in my garden as my therapy. Scenes in books I am writing are developed while tending my flower beds. Conversation between characters occur, and I tug out the most annoying weeds. I live in a relatively new house, the second person to move into this new subdivision. Behind us on this street, our lots dip down to an open field which must be maintained by the city and our HOA. Where others have let that part of their land just sit and be unproductive, I have developed a pollinator garden over the last two years. It includes American beauty berry shrubs and sweet spire at the bottom. Coming up the hill to the main yard, one finds pugester butterfly bushes, mixed with gauria (beeblossom), coneflowers, cat’s pajamas, columbine, ornamental onion, sage, etc. The hillside, when in bloom is all shades or red and purple. Both sides of my house also contain flower beds, as does a curved out area in the front with rhododendron, hydrangeas, verbena, weigela, bluebeards, phlox, lavender, and more pugsters. Again, shades of purple are the way I go. I have neighbors stopping all the time to ask about particular plants. Therefore it is only natural in my tale, Taming Lord Truist, that Lady Eleanor Truist has assumed the “redevelopment” of the Truist gardens in both London and the family estate. It is her first “task,” as the earl’s new mistress and she wishes him to be proud of her. She has decided to “color block,” the plantings with reds leading to pinks leading to a pale salmon and on to white. Such is a more modern approach, but images of gardens of the Regency era say such would be possible.
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and a touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist not only loved him but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
Eleanor gladly retrieved the drawings from the small portfolio case she had held in the coach. She spread the papers upon the table. “I was thinking if we moved the spring daffodils to here,” she tapped the drawing, “and over here, as well as the geraniums, we could have color along the walkways year-round.”
Lady Lindmore studied the diagram. “If I were you, I would place the white lilies before the red and white roses. I like the blocks of color, but not all the patterns require the same touch. Variety. Move some of the white lilies behind the red geraniums. Some blocks should be a single color. Some a continuing color leading to a different block. I particularly enjoy the great burnet for their dark crimson flowers that bloom in June and July. They do require a partly shaded area, so closer to one of the two trees.”
“I could add some pinks and dark plum plants,” Eleanor suggested. “Perhaps some grape hyacinth. They are customarily a March to early April blooming flower. Or even some betonies. Their pink color would work well between the white and the reds, and they bloom from June to September.”
“Do not forget red poppies,” Lady Cora suggested. “I love poppies.”
“I just wish we could see it all right away,” Eleanor said. “His lordship says I may do something similar at his home in Lincolnshire, but I must first consider what differences in the temperature and soil are found there from what I knew in Hertfordshire.”
The dowager countess said, “I prefer flowers that return year after year, but I am also fond of bushes that serve all the seasons. I have a few chokeberry bushes I acquired from a friend whose grandparents brought roots here from America. They have only been in England for perhaps a hundred years, but I had never considered them previously. They are tough and hardy and fit well to a shrub border or they may be permitted to grow ten to twelve feet tall in a woodland context. My friends also shared the American version plants with me. The berries on the aronia plant are sweeter and are red. The chokeberries are bitter. What I like best is the shrub has white to pinkish flowers that appear in clusters in April. In the autumn, the foliage turns a bright scarlet color and then the fruit berries arrive and last through the winter.”
Eleanor added, “My mother grew what she called an ‘honesty’ lunaria. It is rather tall, and, if I recall correctly, it is a biennial, but it would have lovely lilac-colored flowers in the summer, followed by shiny silver translucent discs in the autumn. They looked as if one might see completely through them, but you could not in actuality.” She sighed heavily, but with satisfaction. “I am so grateful for all you two have done for me and for these lovely suggestions. I just pray my husband’s mother does not object.”
“You should permit the Dowager Lady Truist her say on some issues, but you are now Truist’s wife. It is your house. Your reign as the countess,” Lady Agnes Lindmore instructed.
If you have not already read Book 1 of the duo, grab you copy while you wait on the Taming Lord Truist release. Loving Lord Lindmore: Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo will be reduce to $0.99 on Kindle until August 16, 2024. Read it first and see how Truist’s friendship with the Lindmores develops.
LADY CORA TAKES SOCIETY BY STORM . . .
Lady Cora Midland, a highly-spirited country beauty, offers no pretensions, which wins many admirers, despite her lack of knowledge on how to manage the beau monde. However, Matthew Harrington believes she is taking advantage of his elderly grandmother, and he means to put a stop to the girl.
LORD MATTHEW LINDMORE IS IN DENIAL . . .
Lindmore reluctantly assists his grandmother in bringing Lady Cora out in Society. Yet, what appeared to be a daunting task becomes a transformation the earl does not expect. He finds the woman as delightful, as do others in the haut ton. Yet…
When Lady Cora is on the the verge of marrying another, Lindmore fears time will expire before he can speak his own proposal.
GIVEAWAY: I have 5 eBook copies to give away to those who comment on any or all the promotional posts for TAMING LORD TRUIST‘s release. The eBooks will be presented on August 12, the release date.
“A great many changes have happened in the neighbourhood, since you went away. Miss Lucas is married and settled. And one of my own daughters. I suppose you have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the papers. It was in The Times and The Courier, I know; though it was not put in as it ought to be. It was only said, ’Lately, George Wickham, Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet,’ without there being a syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or anything. It was my brother Gardiner’s drawing up too, and I wonder how he came to make such an awkward business of it. Did you see it?” – from Chapter 53 of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
Often times when reading a Regency era book, one will find where there is an upcoming wedding announcement in the newspaper. Unfortunately, such was not the usual way it happened. I have digital copies of several newspapers from the time period, and only once did I see a mention of an upcoming marriage, and it was handled as part of the “gossip” column, along with who was seen at a particular event, etc. I do understand that The Herald carried more gossip about balls and fashionable gatherings, but I have never seen an actual copy of The Herald to know whether that is true.
Newspapers of the time period might mention a betrothal, but not the wedding itself. That duty was left to the vital statistics column, along with matters such as births and deaths, as well the weddings.
Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and a touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist not only loved him but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
“What did you wear for the wedding?” Julia asked as Mr. Speaks wheeled in a tea cart.
“Nothing fashionable,” Eleanor said. “At least, not by today’s standards. My grandmother still had my mother’s dress from when she married my father. It was my grandmother’s request that I wear it. I am confident August despised all the lace, but I could not deny Grandmother Reynolds’s request. Surprisingly, the dress fit quite well.”
“I think it sounds romantic,” Julia said. “Might we have champagne with supper, Mama?” his sister asked.
“Should we not be asking Augustus’s wife?” his mother responded.
“I would be grateful, ma’am, if you would continue in your role as mistress of the house. Though I tended my father’s home after my mother’s passing, as we were in mourning, we did not entertain. I still have much to learn of the task, and August has praised your service to both him and his father. I have no desire to replace you. In fact, as my own mother is no longer on this earth, I had hoped, though you may not think of me as a daughter, that you might consider me . . .”
“What?” his mother asked.
“In honesty, I have not a name for it,” Eleanor admitted. “Not a student, and, most assuredly, not a protégé. I suppose ‘friend’ will have to suffice.”
August watched his mother’s expressions. Eleanor had quite successfully befuddled Lady Lorraine Truist, backing her into a corner with a cup of “sweetness.” He thought he would never see such a day, but it had come. His wife wielded her “gentle” nature as if it were a heavy sword.
The rest of the evening had gone better than August could have hoped, as they likely had chronicled their coming together a half dozen times. He had spoken to the quality of the estate belonging to Eleanor’s father. “Perhaps, you might travel with me when I inspect the home farms at Wassar Hall,” he told Octavius. “We might consider some of the successes from Wassar to instill at Franklin Place and vice versa. Herts and Cambridge generally share the same type of weather. The Wilders’ land agent, a Mr. Centwell, spoke of a special sheep breeding plan they had developed on the estate.”
“I would be delighted,” his brother said. “Thank you, Eleanor, for opening new doors to us. It is difficult for August and me always to know what is best for Franklin Place, when we are accustomed to Lincolnshire climate and land. Our father only used Franklin Place as a summer estate, but, some day, it will be my home and the place where my family will reside.”
“I did nothing but pronounce my vows to your brother,” Eleanor protested. “Yet, I can honestly say my father would be excited to hear your hopes to learn from his beloved estate and for you to share what you have learned elsewhere to keep Wassar Hall prosperous. Thank you, August, for doing more than selling my father’s life’s work.”
“What shall the Hugos say of this marriage?” his mother asked the question August knew most pressing on her mind.
“First, I never offered Miss Hugo anything beyond the two times I danced with her. I never asked if I might call on her. Never rode out with the chit in the park. I have not even spoken to Lord Hugo in the House of Lords in the short time between the ball his wife hosted and today. I held no obligation to Miss Hugo. In fact, I believe the chit preferred Mr. Cardea to me. She assuredly did not wish to leave his side to dance with me the first time. She would have preferred to be Lady Truist rather than Mrs. Cardea, or I should say, her mother would have preferred a title for her daughter.”
His wife added meekly, “As for me, I am assuming, by today, the Hugos will have discovered I am no longer in the house.” Eleanor played with her fingers and her head was down in a submissive gesture, of which August did not approve.
“Would they not have known yesterday?” his mother asked in incredulity.
August reached for Eleanor’s hand and rested it gently in his lap. He meant to defend her. “You saw the gown in which the Hugos clothed Eleanor at the ball. Surely you noted, at the break for supper, Lady Hugo banished Eleanor from the ballroom, while using part of my wife’s inheritance to pay for, not only the food, but also the orchestra and the gown for Miss Hugo and the flowers.” He purposely brought the back of his wife’s hand to his lips to present her knuckles a gentle kiss.
“On the day of our marriage, Eleanor snuck out a small trunk with a couple of simple dresses and her feminine wear along with her mother’s jewels, which she has kept hidden from the Hugos for nearly two years. As Lady Hugo had ordered her to her room on Sunday evening to wait for Mr. Westlake’s arrival, we have no idea when they will realize she is no longer under their roof, but I am confident it will be sometime tomorrow when I demand a return of her personal belongings, those she did not bring to the marriage.”
“Such is not necessary,” Eleanor pleaded. “Our marriage will be shocking enough.”
“It is necessary, my dear. No one abuses my family. We cannot begin a lifetime together by permitting those of the nature of Lord and Lady Hugo to benefit from your good fortune. Nor should we permit them the upper hand in spreading rumors that I was caught seducing you or some such nonsense to save face, for Lady Hugo has spread the word that she expects me to propose to her daughter some time this week.”
Ignoring what he said, his mother said, “We should send around a notice of your marriage to the Times. With your permission, Augustus, I would send it over this evening. I am confident it could be in tomorrow’s edition under the section chronicling such events. In that manner, we may be ahead of the onslaught of insults we are likely to hear from the Hugos.”
“Lindmore and I mean to silence his lordship’s objections in the House of Lords. If Hugo does not take his family in hand, it will be a cold day in the Devil’s realm before he passes another bill in the Lords or finds even one member of his club with whom to play a hand of cards. Lady Hugo may find her husband spending more time with his . . .” August broke off rather than to embarrass his mother, sister, or Eleanor, though he suspected his wife knew something of the matter, nevertheless.”
“It is not necessary for you to take such measures. I promised not to be a trial on your time,” Eleanor begged.
“You are not a trial on my time,” he said emphatically. “Our agreement is not all for my benefit. I wish my wife to have what she deserves, and that is a voice in her future. In our future.”
You might also enjoy Loving Lord Lindmore: Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo, which is on sale for $0.99 on Kindle until August 12.
LADY CORA TAKES SOCIETY BY STORM . . .
Lady Cora Midland, a highly-spirited country beauty, offers no pretensions, which wins many admirers, despite her lack of knowledge on how to manage the beau monde. However, Matthew Harrington believes she is taking advantage of his elderly grandmother, and he means to put a stop to the girl.
LORD MATTHEW LINDMORE IS IN DENIAL . . .
Lindmore reluctantly assists his grandmother in bringing Lady Cora out in Society. Yet, what appeared to be a daunting task becomes a transformation the earl does not expect. He finds the woman as delightful, as do others in the haut ton. Yet…
When Lady Cora is on the the verge of marrying another, Lindmore fears time will expire before he can speak his own proposal.
GIVEAWAY: I have 5 eBook copies to give away to those who comment on any or all the promotional posts for TAMING LORD TRUIST‘s release. The eBooks will be presented on August 12, the release date.
Taming Lord Truist: Book 2 of the Strong Regency Women Duo
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrecoverably gone.” – Jane Austen
Miss Eleanor Wilder has admired Lord Augustus Truist since she was a young girl. He had once protected her from an older boy who had meant to strike her. Now, she requires his protection again: This time, it is from her guardian, a cousin who means to marry Eleanor off to a man more that twice Ella’s age in order to keep Eleanor’s fortune in the family. As she will soon be one and twenty, Eleanor must convince Lord Truist to marry her himself, rather than see all her fortune go to a ne’er-do-well.
Lord Truist must save his family from disgrace and the very honest touch of poverty by marrying an heiress of whom his mother approves, but he finds repugnant. However, when Miss Wilder offers him her fortune with no strings attached—a marriage of convenience—how can he refuse? As his countess, the lady would have the protection she required, and he would have the freedom to enjoy his long-time mistress, Miss Sarah Darling, without complaints.
How was he to know that the new Lady Truist, not only loved him, but was quite perfect in ways he did not realize he required?
Short Excerpt from Eleanor’s proposal to August. . . Enjoy!
Eleanor had specifically chosen the fourth set to pair with Lord Truist for she knew it was to include a minuet and a l’allemande series of Baroque dances. Slower. More opportunities to hold a conversation.
“Miss Wilder, I believe this is our dance.” Lord Truist extended his gloved hand to her, and she placed her fingertips in his hand, and he brought her palm to rest on his arm. He closed his hand over hers and gave her the slightest of tugs to bring her to his side. She noticed that he looked at her in an odd manner, but she was relatively confident he had felt the same warmth as she did through their gloved hands.
He was so devastatingly handsome, Eleanor thought she could spend a lifetime just watching him age, and, if her plan went off as she hoped, such would be her fate. Though he did not sport a smile at this moment, she knew he was more often than not seen with a crooked, almost taunting, smile on his lips. Those lips were said to spill a boatload of nonsense or a heavy shovel full of truth, depending on the situation. Earlier, the Honorable Mr. Octavius Banks claimed his elder brother was the best man he knew.
His lordship’s hair was a tad darker than hers, with his being a nice mix of dark brown with golden and auburn strands mixed in. His eyes were brown, where hers were blue. They assumed their position on the floor, and the music began. They circled back to back, and for an elongated moment, she simply enjoyed the warmth of his body surrounding her.
The moment disappeared when he said, “Lindmore says there is some foolishness about Lady Hugo marrying you off to her brother Arthur Westlake.”
They made the required turns and came close again. “She wants to keep my father’s money within her side of the family.”
“I thought the Hugos were well placed,” he said.
“Not so much after they present you Miss Hugo’s dowry.”
They separated then to bow to another couple and weave through a line of dancers. Whey they came together again, he stated, “I do not comprehend how your potential marriage to a distant cousin concerns me.”
The dance pulled them apart once more; therefore, she had a few extra seconds to repeat in her head what she had been rehearsing for several days. “I had considered if you held no true affection . . .”
Separation. A bow. A turn with another gentleman and then face-to-face with the most handsome man of her acquaintance. “no true affection for Daphne, you might . . .” The first part of the dance was to end soon with them at opposite corners of the formation and watching others within the rectangle complete the same steps he and she had already executed.
She watched the myriad of emotions which crossed his features. He studied her, attempting to anticipate what she meant to say, though he surely knew. From all she had learned of him, he was considered quite intelligent, as well as more than a bit cynical.
At last, the music had them weaving their way back to each other. He did not wait for her to speak first. He demanded, “I might what?”
She kept her eyes diverted from his, but she said the words she had rehearsed. “Might marry me instead.”
He appeared puzzled by her declaration, but there was no instant rejection. In fact, as they wove their way through the early steps of a l’allemande, he studied her carefully, as if he were memorizing how she looked, which was drab and a bit like she had just left a clod of country soil on the Lord Hugo’s entrance steps.
Finally, they were close enough to speak, though they were again back to back. “My father was from the Irish gentry, but we came to England when I was very young. He owned an estate in Hertfordshire and two smaller ones, which are not entailed. He left them to me, along with fifty thousand pounds.”
His lordship stumbled briefly, but quickly recovered as the music came to an end. “You are serious?”
“I cannot live in this house much longer,” she said as they slowly walked to the side of the room. “Mr. Westlake is to arrive at this house in a matter of a sennight. She looked to where Lady Hugo stood frowning in her direction. Eleanor touched his arm so he might pause. “I know you have a mistress who you hold dearly. I do not care. All I want is a family that does not find me appalling. I shall be a good mistress for your house, and you shall have my fortune.”
If you have not previously read, Book 1 of the Strong Regency Women Duo, Loving Lord Lindmore, now is the time to have a look, for I dropped the price to $0.99 on Amazon until Taming Lord Truist arrives on August 12. (Get it!!! His name is “Augustus” so the book comes out in August.) You may also read both on Kindle Unlimited.
LADY CORA TAKES SOCIETY BY STORM . . .
Lady Cora Midland, a highly-spirited country beauty, offers no pretensions, which wins many admirers, despite her lack of knowledge on how to manage the beau monde. However, Matthew Harrington believes she is taking advantage of his elderly grandmother, and he means to put a stop to the girl.
LORD MATTHEW LINDMORE IS IN DENIAL . . .
Lindmore reluctantly assists his grandmother in bringing Lady Cora out in Society. Yet, what appeared to be a daunting task becomes a transformation the earl does not expect. He finds the woman as delightful, as do others in the haut ton. Yet…
When Lady Cora is on the the verge of marrying another, Lindmore fears time will expire before he can speak his own proposal.
GIVEAWAY: I have 5 eBook copies to give away to those who comment on any or all the promotional posts for TAMING LORD TRUIST‘s release. The eBooks will be presented on August 12, the release date.
Typically, three footmen were required for the better households. The first footman served as the mistress’s footman. He prepared her early morning and breakfast trays, walked her dogs, cleaned her shoes, brushed the mud from her riding habit and hems of her dresses, and cleaned/scrubbed the silver coins to disinfect them after tradesmen handled them. The first footman served the meals at the master’s house. He accompanied his lady when she dined at another’s home without her husband. He stood behind her chair to increase the appearance of rank and status. He was often charged with the duty of paying toll gates, hired carriages, and postage, expense reimbursed to him by the house steward. He was ironically called “James,” no matter his Christian name. 
Being neither seen nor heard would be the order of the day. It was not unusual for maids to turn and face the wall if she encountered her master or mistress in the passageways. The upper housemaids were responsible for the appearance of the rooms. They addressed the draperies, the floral arrangements, the chair covers, etc. The under housemaids did the physical duties of laying a fire, polishing, cleaning the grates, etc. In Letters from England, Elizabeth Davis Bancroft, the wife of the U.S. Minister to England (1846-49), wrote, “The division of labour, or rather ceremonies, between the butler and the footman I have now mastered, I believe in some degree, but that between the upper and under housemaid is still a profound mystery to me, though the upper has explained to me for the twentieth time that she did only ‘the top of the work.”
Servants also EXPECTED to receive a tip from the master’s guests. A guest would be leave a half-sovereign for the housemaid in honor of the condition she maintained his quarters, a sovereign for the groom of the chambers for lighting the candles each evening, likewise a sovereign for the butler for his personal advice and favors and a footman who acted as valet to a gentleman traveling without his personal servant. A guest might also tip the gamekeeper, etc. etc., etc. The list could easily grow to a tidy sum. Even visitors making tours of great estates were expected to tip the housekeepers guiding their tours.
Every Woman Dreams... 
