Character Showcase- Magnificent Bugiardini and the Empress Marisol

The Magnificent Bugiardini and his assistant, make their living by “communicating” with the dead, on behalf of the living – or as Detective Inspector Deverell says, “on behalf of the gullible”. He does not believe in the supernatural, but he knows that seances and psychic readings have become a popular past time. Also a lucrative one, for those who know how to practice the art with enough aplomb.

Julius and Marianne Vӓsterveld are just such a couple. They make a good living out of the morbid curiosity and desperate hopes of those who have lost loved ones. While Julius plays the role of “The Magnificent Bugiardini”, complete with dramatic black cape and menacing demeanor, his wife is truly the one with the talents. Or so she claims. Through her “spirit guide”—who goes by the name, “Empress Marisol” --Marianne communicates with those on the “other side”.

The couple have often stayed at ‘The Brindle Horse’ hotel, where they find many wealthy and elderly guests, eager to part with their coin, in exchange for a conversation with some long-dead relatives. As it happens, they were staying at the hotel ten years ago, when the notorious Mrs. Siddaway was arrested for murdering her young lover. Now, here they are again, just when another man goes missing and another woman is found holding a bloodied weapon.

Is it more than coincidence?

Detective Inspector Deverell is acquainted with their act and knows that they have been present, in the past, at house parties where valuable trinkets disappear. This time it’s a man missing, rather than a priceless painting or a diamond bracelet, but could they be involved? He does not trust the pair of them and he’s not fooled, or distracted, by the “Empress Marisol’s” flirtatious gestures. 

Something is going on at ‘The Brindle Horse’ hotel, and he has a strong feeling that this couple of confidence tricksters are somehow at the bottom of it.

*
Get on the case with Detective Inspector Deverell on July 5th or pre-order your copy of A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS here.

(Image used here: James Tissot, A Woman of Ambition 1883-85)

Character Showcase - Old Lady Hardwicke and Sir Buxton

A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS (available for pre-order here) contains a wedding and two murders, but no funeral. There are also, however, a great many people in mourning black. Among them is old Lady Hardwicke, who claims seventy-five years, but might very likely be hiding a few more under her widow’s weeds.

Lady Hardwicke is a woman of strong opinions and voice. She has no time for weakness, sickness, wastefulness or inefficiency. Her only son, Sir Buxton is about to be married, which means that she will now become the Dowager Lady Hardwicke. But she does not see that as a reason to be sat down in a corner. The lady takes swift objection to anybody who dares suggest she would prefer a quiet spot out of the way.

In public, she speaks very highly of her son and his seat in the House of Lords – after all he is the Hardwicke family’s last chance of continuation into another generation and another century -- but there are only so many times an intelligent woman can overlook a man’s faults, his negligence and his bumbling clumsiness.

Sir Buxton is in his fifties and never previously married. This has led to all manner of rumor and the general expectation that he will remain a bachelor. The announcement of his wedding to a governess, therefore, comes as a shock to many. Especially as it is undertaken so speedily.

Can old Lady Hardwicke finally have run out of patience with her son and pushed him to marry as quickly as possible, to beget the all-important Hardwicke heir? What secrets are they all hiding that makes this hasty marriage necessary? And why choose Miss Edina Meridies – a sweet girl, but shy and meek, and certainly not the titled, moneyed heiress one might expect for a Hardwicke? There are rumors that Sir Buxton chose her to be a companion for his mother, whenever the demands of his post keep him in London for extended periods. Edina isn’t the sort to be any trouble, of course, and has no temperament capable of challenging his mother.

The Hardwickes live in Feldale House, a crumbling mansion that was once the grandest house in the little hamlet of Quipsey Denby, a few miles outside York. Despite its steady decay, the house still has impressive bones, but although it has many beautiful windows, they are mostly rendered blind by having the curtains constantly drawn to keep out light. Old Lady Hardwicke believes this will save the “Hardwicke Treasures” – items our heroine, Lucy Greenwood, calls “detritus”– from the devilry of too much sunlight. In many rooms, candles have to be lit throughout the day, giving the house an aura of gloom and constant night.

The old lady herself seldom sees much daylight or cheerful company. With her son away so often and her husband long dead, she is most often left alone in her house with a few dour servants to wait on her. This wedding is, for her, a rare jaunt into the outside world. And it just might open her eyes – and her curtains-- in more ways than one.

As for Sir Buxton, well, things aren’t quite going to turn out the way he expects.

But it all begins long, long before he tries to reach a jar of Epsom salts on a washroom shelf.

****

Grab your copy of A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS on July 5^th .  Or PRE-ORDER here.

You can catch up on Lucy Greenwood’s life and her relationship with Detective Inspector Deverell in BESPOKE, the first book in the series, available now from most online booksellers.

(Images used here: Mary Ann Baxter by Edward Hughes c. 1883 and Portrait of Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellesley by Thomas Lawrence 1813-1830)

Character Showcase - Mrs. Henrietta Fielding

Mrs. Henrietta Fielding has struggled alone to bring up her son since he was four years-old. She is a stern woman with a cold manner and an undisguised hatred for the male sex. Which is unfortunate for her son, Evander, who takes the brunt of her wrath and disgust simply for being born a boy and now being the only surviving man in the house. She claims her lectures, criticisms and dire warnings are all for his own good. But he tends to think she just wants to make his life miserable.

Mother and son have lived in the same house all his life, but they might as well be strangers who were forced into shared accommodation. At least, that is how her son sees it. He cannot wait to get away and takes the first opportunity he finds to flee her house in the Oxfordshire village of Tender Tumblety.

Mrs. Fielding raised her son with a firm, strict hand, hoping to steer him out of the path of tragedy and “strumpets”, but she almost seems resigned to the fact that he will get himself into trouble and embarrass her – just as his father did. She can barely stand to look at her son or talk to him directly. He reminds her too much, perhaps, of Mr. Fielding.  She is as distrustful of the outside world as she is of men in general, and never ventures beyond Tender Tumblety. Once a week she has sherry with the vicar -- probably to enlighten him on what the topic of his next sermon should be. Her only other social engagement is held every Wednesday afternoon, when the other widows of Tender Tumblety converge upon her front parlor for tea, crochet and gossip. Her son refers to these sessions as “web-spinning”.  He is not welcome to join the gathering of black spiders, even if he wanted to. Sometimes he sees them clustered in corners around the village -- an unofficial association, of which his mother appears to be the leader, and whose purpose can only be dark.

Ever since her son was a boy, he remembers watching her make herbal potions in the kitchen and then passing them on to village women, who came furtively to her back door. As a grown man, he has formed his own conclusions about the purpose of her potions, but he keeps it to himself, unable to confront his mother about anything. He has also come to a suspicion about the number of merry widows there are in Tender Tumblety and the part his mother might have played in raising it to such an unusual level.

Again, it’s not something he would ever discuss with his mother. Nobody in Tender Tumblety  would dare.

But if Henrietta Fielding truly despises and despairs of her son so very much, why is she not happy when he leaves her home for good at last, to set up his medical practice in Yorkshire? Why would she try to dissuade him from getting as far away from her as he can?

And can Evander trust those strange childhood memories that have suddenly begun to haunt him – images of his mother committing murder with her own hands? It’s been thirty years since his father’s fatal accident, but the dead, like Evander Fielding's memories, are no longer content to slumber in the grave.

*

Learn more about the Fieldings and Henrietta’s secrets on July 5^th, in A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS.

(Image used here: "A Widow's Mite" by John Everett Millais 1870)

The Bridesmaids

In A Loveliness of Ladybirds, one of Lucy Greenwood's old school friends is getting married and she's invited Lucy, and two of their other comrades in mischief, to act as her bridesmaids. Although they have all grown up considerably since their school days, the four young ladies once referred to themselves as 'The Yorkshire Puddings'. A nickname granted, at first, by another spiteful girl at school, who looked down on them for their Yorkshire accents, it was soon seized upon and worn with pride by the girls she meant to mock.

While Lucy and Edie (the bride) are from working class stock, and were fortunate to have their education paid for by charitable, wealthy ladies, their two friends come from the upper class of society and have known greater material advantages and privileges throughout their lives. But, as Lucy observes at the wedding, it seems as if she and Edie (the poor girls at their school) have managed to find happiness and contentment in life, while their friends still struggle.

Matilda (Mattie) Cloyce is the only daughter in a family of seven sons. She -- as in the case of most young women of her age-- is expected to look after her brothers and any other needy family members, until she finds a man to marry. But Matilda dislikes men as a whole (perhaps the consequence of having so many brothers?) and has never yet found one she can tolerate for more than three minutes. Her family are wealthy and well-known in academic circles. Their idea of an evening's entertainment is to sit about solving mathematical conundrums. Yet Mattie's intelligence is never allowed to shine. As a woman, she is continually pushed aside and stepped over in her family, her own accomplishments overlooked.

Yes, one of her brothers is a famous scientist who wrote an award-winning book, but Mattie is heartily sick of being referred to as "Randolph Cloyce's sister". So I suggest you never mention it to her.

At the wedding of Edie to Sir Buxton Hardwicke, Mattie is trying to hold her tongue and not look as if she would like to strike somebody about the head. However, she has been forced, not only into a yellow gown, but into polite conversation with some of the dullest people on earth. And the bridesmaid's bouquet is making her itch. Her temper is not likely to outlast the day and her opinions about this hasty marriage will have to come out sooner or later. Just like a sneeze.

Clara Boothby-Hamm concludes the little group of old friends gathered beside the wedding cake. She is the romantic optimist among them and refuses to see anything amiss with their friend's choice of husband. Clara comes from a very old, grand family and she too is expected to marry well. But the Boothby-Hamms are not so wealthy as they used to be and although Clara holds out hope for love, it is becoming steadily more obvious that she will have to choose for practical reasons first. Rather than make her depressed, this fact seems to make her more desperate to put on a happy face. To avoid the unpleasant reality, perhaps? After all, time flies, and as the ever-morbid Mattie points out,  "A woman’s value on the marriage mart severely depreciates with every passing year.”


Clara is dressed in pink for her friend's wedding and it suits her blushing, girlish mood. If she has any doubts about Edie's future happiness as Lady Hardwicke, she certainly hides it well. Better than Mattie hides her disdain.

*

A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS arrives at all online bookstores on July 5th.

(Images used here: Charles Perugini's Lady in Yellow and James McNeill Whistler's portrait of Lady Meux 1881)

Character Showcase - Mary and Ivy

Readers of BESPOKE will already be familiar with Lucy Greenwood’s faithful helpers, Mary and Ivy. As her cake design business and tea shop continue to grow, Lucy’s assistants have become even more important to her success and greatly appreciated.

Mary Hobson agreed to leave her parents’ farm to work for Lucy when “Bespoke Temptations” was nothing more than a twinkle in Miss Greenwood’s eye. Her no-nonsense character provides our heroine with a steady, dependable ally and keeps the shop running whenever Lucy has to go out.

Mary is hard of hearing, but she never lets that stand in her way – not now that Lucy’s encouragement and friendship has helped her come out of her shell.  Once she was called “Mardy Mary” because folk usually encountered her in a cross temper, refusing to speak to anybody, but now that she has found a place for herself in the world – independent of the family that made no effort to understand her, and often belittled or took advantage of the girl-- she is much happier and more fulfilled.  She is devoted to Lucy and won’t hear a word against her, but she is also in possession of a wry sense of humor, with which she occasionally teases her mistress. Especially now that she is more confident in her own skin and not afraid to use her voice.

Ivy Dimmock was once a workhouse orphan. She also briefly held a post as a scullery maid, but now she makes her home with Lucy and Mary at “Bespoke Temptations”. She’s very young and still has much to learn, but she is eager, cheerfully undaunted by her shortcomings, and seems to soak up information like a sponge. As long as she’s paying attention and not day-dreaming! She’s a merry,

optimistic soul, despite her unhappy, impoverished beginnings, and she’s eternally grateful to Lucy for giving her a fresh start in life.  Occasionally she lets something burn on the range and feels the sharp edge of Mary’s impatient tongue, but mostly she glides through the shop -- proud in her fancy, new waitressing uniform – and gleefully seizes any new opportunity to learn (or chocolate smeared spoon) with both hands.  Like Mary, she’s not afraid of hard work and she’s intensely loyal to her mistress. She dreams of one day enjoying a grand romance, but as Lucy tells her, she’d better learn to make a living for herself first, and stand on her own two clogs, before she gets starry-eyed over any man.

As “Bespoke Temptations” continues to find success, Lucy’s assistants will play an even greater role in her story. They might even find  some little romances of their own along the way. After all, Lucy can't have all the fun.

Be reunited with Mary and Ivy on July 5^th, when A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS (A Bespoke novel) is released.

 (Images here: The Housewife, by Frederick Walker 1871 and A Maid Sweeping by Henry Meynell Rheam.)

Character Showcase - Elkins and Eastman

In my upcoming release THE LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS there is something odd going on at 'The Brindle Horse' Hotel and it's Detective Inspector Deverell's job to find out exactly what. On this bright spring morning in 1894, he must contend not only with the strange disappearance of a groom from a wedding breakfast in the hotel dining room, but also untangle another mystery-- one that's lain dormant for ten years. He's quite sure, you see, that both events are somehow entwined and with his care for detail he's just the man to sort it all out.

He soon discovers that 'The Brindle Horse' Hotel is a building with an ancient and fascinating history. At one time in its long life it was a hideout for smugglers, highwaymen and other reprobates who fled across the Yorkshire countryside to evade justice. According to fussy hotel manager Mr. Fred Elkins, that was all in the past and the hotel is now a respectable establishment for the wealthy and well-shod, where fine, discriminating guests come to recuperate and enjoy the tranquil setting on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. But is 'The Brindle Horse' once again, being used for an old and familiar purpose? What does it hide now?

Mr. Elkins has been the manager for three years and he's very anxious that the hotel should retain its good reputation among the older, richer folk who mostly make up its clientele. So he is not at all keen to revisit the infamous events of ten years ago, when a young man named Hywel Ellis disappeared from the hotel grounds and Mrs. Siddaway, apprehended in possession of a bloody knife, was arrested for his murder. It was a scandal that made the newspapers for months, but Mr. Elkins does not like to hear it mentioned. He would rather pretend he never heard of it -- that it has nothing to do with his establishment. Instead he prefers to focus on the hotel's old-fashioned grandeur, which means sticking to all the little traditions enjoyed by his repeat guests. And they are not the sort who would want to be reminded of the scarlet Siddaway woman and her young lover. A bloody murder is hardly polite afternoon tea dance conversation.

The manager knows that his greatest competition is 'The Swan' -- a more updated and luxurious hotel in the nearby city of York. He has heard that they have not only installed a device to move guests from one floor to another, but also flushing conveniences! The very idea makes him quake in his shoes. He swears that dangerous electric light will never cross his threshold. As for anybody coming to his hotel for the purpose of ghost-hunting or any other supernatural activity -- a new fancy of "hoi polloi" -- he refuses to countenance the idea. His clientele are far above any of that nonsense, as he proudly assures the detective. They stick to quiet strolls, a steady row upon the hotel lake, or attending an extremely proper and dignified afternoon tea dance.

According to Fred Elkins, the hotel and its staff are above suspicion. But is he telling the truth? Does he really know what's going on in his own hotel?

Apart from 'The Swan' -- which gives him a great many headaches-- Mr. Elkins' main daily annoyance is the hotel's head housekeeper, Mrs. Jenny Eastman. She knows how to tease and get under his skin, and so amuses herself by doing this regularly. She is a bespectacled widow of middle-age, cheerful and motherly, but also in possession of a disrespectful sense of naughty humor. She oversees the chambermaids in the hotel and is supposed to ensure that all the guests have whatever comforts they require in their rooms. She sometimes gets a little distracted from her work however, especially after a tipple of whiskey in her cozy little parlor. It's not only her hair that tends to come unpinned over the course of the day. But Mrs. Eastman has been on the current hotel staff longer than anybody and she knows many of the hotel's secrets. She's certainly not likely to share them with her nemesis - the pretentious, ill-tempered Fred Elkins -- but she doesn't mind inviting Detective Inspector Deverell into her parlor for a nip of good whiskey and some enlightening chatter.

She seems to be a wise lady, if a little mischievous, and she's seen a lot of things through the lenses of her shiny spectacles over the years. But is she telling the truth? Are there some secrets of 'The Brindle Horse' hotel that she's not sharing with Tolly Deverell?

Find out more on July 5th and get your copy of A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS.

(Images here: Detail from "Too Early" by James Tissot 1873; Streatley Inn by Mortimer Menpes 1906)

Character Showcase - Dr. Evander Fielding

Readers of the first novel in the series (“BESPOKE”) will remember Dr. Fielding, the handsome and gallant gentleman who has his eye on our heroine Miss Lucy Greenwood, owner of Bespoke Temptations bakery and teashop.

Unfortunately for Dr. Fielding, Miss Greenwood prefers to keep him as a friend rather than a suitor. Her comments to this effect, however, have not prevented him from the occasional attempt to change her mind. He thinks she’s a lady in need of somebody to save her reputation and he, being a somber, earnest and caring fellow, believes he is the man who can do that.

Evander grew up in Oxfordshire, in the village of Tender Tumblety, very much under his stern mother’s thumb. His father died when Evander was only four, so he and his mother were left to struggle on together. It has not been a loving, happy relationship, since his mother made it clear that a son could be nothing but a disappointment. Whatever he did or said, it was always the wrong thing. As soon as he had the opportunity, therefore, he came north to Yorkshire, to start his own life away from Mrs. Henrietta Fielding’s bitter resentment.

He knows his mother would never approve of a modern, independent-minded woman like Lucy Greenwood for her son, but perhaps that is why he pursues her. Mrs. Fielding did not approve of his decision to move to Yorkshire either, and he did not listen. He would be shocked if she ever approved of anything he did.

But since he arrived in Yorkshire last year and took over a medical practice within sight of an old hotel called ‘The Brindle Horse’, things have not been going so well for Evander Fielding. He’s been suffering bad dreams about a murder that once took place at the hotel and he’s beginning to wonder whether they truly are dreams, or whether they might be memories.

The last time he was here, ten years ago, he stayed one night at ‘The Brindle Horse’ hotel and accidentally became involved, as a reluctant witness, in a scandalous murder trial. His mother warned him then, that no good could come of travelling so far away from her. For a while, after it happened, he was inclined to believe her; his life  was turned upside down and inside out by those shocking events and everything that followed. But surely it was simply ill luck that he should get mixed up in something like that once before. It must be safe now to return, he’d thought. It couldn’t possibly happen to him again, could it?

Although living there, close to ‘The Brindle Horse’ hotel, he has not yet been back inside it. He can’t quite seem to summon the courage. But he keeps the building within his sights, just in case he catches those wisteria covered walls up to no good.

Something has drawn him back there after ten years, but what could it be? Or who could it be? After all, ‘The Ladybird Murder’-- as the newspapers called it at the time-- was never solved. No body was ever found and the accused murderess, Mrs. Amarinda Siddaway, was eventually acquitted.

Perhaps Evander’s dreams are trying to tell him something about that decade-old mystery. Something he knows about the case, but has been trying to forget.

******

What's troubling poor Dr. Fielding? Find out on July 5th in "A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS"

(Image used here: Frank Holl, self-portrait 1863)

Character Showcase - The Bride

In my upcoming release “A Loveliness of Ladybirds”, Detective Inspector Ptolemy (“Tolly”) Deverell has another strange case on his hands. It’s Spring 1894 and the detective ---seconded to Yorkshire from Scotland Yard just that previous autumn -- is still settling in and getting to know the community. He doesn’t even have a proper place to stay yet, as he divides his time between a cold room in a boarding house and a makeshift bed in his office at the police station. But he is slowly making friends – among them, Miss Lucy Greenwood, cake creator extraordinaire and local businesswoman.

Together they are about to embark on a case that begins with the two of them on opposing sides. In fact, it seems likely to put a stop to their fledgling friendship before it’s barely got off the ground.

On the other hand, it might just bring them even closer together. After all, as one wise character says, “It takes steel and stone to make a spark”.

“A Loveliness of Ladybirds” – A Bespoke Novel, will be available at all the best online bookstores on July 5^th.

Today, please enjoy the first character showcase to introduce the story.

*****

THE BRIDE

Known to her friends as “Edie”, Edina Meridies is a governess, who has done well for herself by marrying a baronet – Sir Buxton Leopold Augusto Aurelianus Hardwicke.  

The daughter of a seamstress, Edie was a charity pupil at the school they all attended as girls. Her school fees were paid by a wealthy family, who sponsored her education. Since Lucy was in a similar position at the school and she too came from the working class (her mother being a cook), the two girls had formed a friendship that lasted for the four years Lucy spent there. They were also befriended by two other girls from Yorkshire – Matilda and Clara—who, although being from wealthier, upper class families, were singled out and teased too for their northern accents. The four girls became “The Yorkshire Puddings”, forming a bond that endured even when they all went their separate ways after school. Over the years since then, they have kept in touch, off and on, through letters.

Edie’s wedding is the first time they have all been together in a dozen years.

But her three old school friends have mixed feelings about the groom. Sir Buxton is much older than Edie. As a dull politician, very fond of his own voice, he has not particularly impressed any of her bridesmaids. They know that Edie is very romantic and spends many hours reading novels of dashing, brooding heroes and their starry-eyed heroines. How can she find happiness with a man so very far from those romantic heroes of fiction? Can she be entirely sure that this is the right choice?

But demure, sweet-natured and delicate, Edie was engaged ten years ago and that ended in tragedy. Her friends, therefore, must put aside their doubts and hope that this time she has found happiness – and love-- at last.

Lucy is not only a bridesmaid, but she was hired to provide the wedding cake too, so she must hope for good fortune in this match. And somehow she must ignore that chill creeping up the back of her neck, warning her that not all is as it seems. Her friend could be in danger from more than an ill-suited match, but is it her place to say so?

Edie seems content with her choice and everybody says that at least she will be rich now. But will she? Lucy has yet to receive a payment for her wedding cake and one of the other bridesmaids found an unpaid bill pinned to her gown. And will they ever get around to serving the food at the wedding breakfast? Lucy has been looking forward to a feast all morning and when she's hungry she's never in the best of moods.

What can possibly be holding up the lobster salad? 

* * *

Image: The Wedding Dress by Thomas Benjamin Kennington, 1889)

A Loveliness of Ladybirds (A Bespoke novel)

Coming July 5th! The second installment in my Victorian mystery romance series is about to hit internet bookstores, so if you haven't read the first (BESPOKE), now is the time to catch up on the story so far.

It's not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the second, but it may increase your enjoyment as you get to know the characters.

Below is the blurb for the upcoming release "A Loveliness of Ladybirds". An excerpt will be available later this week, along with the usual character showcases.

Thank you for reading!

* * * * *

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home…

Ten years ago, at ‘The Brindle Horse’ Hotel, Amarinda Siddaway ran barefoot out of the fog, with a bloody knife in her hand and a children’s rhyme on her lips. Tangled with rumors of lurid scandal, an illicit love affair with a young man a dozen years her junior, and a missing corpse, the mystery of Mrs. Siddaway seemed destined never to be solved. Tried for murder and acquitted, the scarlet woman disappeared from the world just as thoroughly as her alleged victim.

But was she truly innocent, or did she get away with murder?

Now, a decade later, a very similar crime has been committed, once again at the same hotel. Can it be nothing more than simple coincidence that several characters involved in the first incident are present at the scene of the second? Another woman with a bloody weapon in her hand; another nursery rhyme, and another missing dead man.

Some folk might think that old ghosts are to blame. Or is it the ladybirds again?

A spinning weathervane on a boathouse roof, points in turn to all four directions of the compass. And four letters, sealed with red wax, stamped with the image of a ladybird, are out in the world, linking both crimes with a curious, winding chain.

And there is only one man with the patience and wisdom to unwind it. Only one man can connect the clues and stop that weathervane spinning.

Detective Inspector Deverell is not fond of coincidences or the supernatural. But whatever is going on at ‘The Brindle Horse’, he’ll get to the bottom of it. Fortunately, he has the eager, amateur sleuth and creator of remarkable cakes, Miss Lucy Greenwood, to help him out.

* * * * *

Get your copy from all online bookstores on July 5th.

(Image here, portrait by Tom Roberts 1888, public domain)