London, 1813 It was rumoured that Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey, received jewels from each one of her lovers when their affairs came to an end. Judging from the mountains of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds which lay carelessly strewn upon the countess’ coiffeuse in her dressing room, Hannah Smith could only conclude that, if the […]
In life there are many rules which are universally accepted without thought: One should cover one’s mouth when one sneezes. One should never dip one’s wick into two pots of ink simultaneously. A man of means should never—under any circumstances—lend money to the Prince Regent if he has a need of those monies being reimbursed. […]
Miss Mary Mifford held her head high as she made her way through the village of Plumpton. As she walked, she tried not to imagine people whispering about her behind the leaded windows of the houses which lined the main street, but it was somewhat difficult. Plumpton, a small village nestled in the Cotswold Hills, […]
Never marry for love, Hestia. Love only works in fairy tales.” This was the sage advice that Hestia Stockbow’s mother, Georgina, imparted to her almost daily, for the whole of her childhood. “Love won’t heat your home,” Georgina would grumble mid-winter, when a damp chill permeated their small, stone cottage on the Cornish coast. “Or […]
London had been sweltering under an unforgivable heatwave since the middle of May. In elegantly appointed ballrooms across the capital, women stood perspiring delicately, whilst cooling themselves with folding fans, which had undergone a sudden resurgence in popularity. The menfolk fared less well, as fans were a female contraption, and red faced males were seen […]
Alastair Fairfax, Sixth Marquess of Havisham, was not afraid to admit that he loved his wife– even if it was most unfashionable to do so. What he was afraid to admit to—out loud at least—was that he loved her more than his three sons. Oh, don’t think that he did not adore the three strapping […]
I know that it has been many years since we last spoke, and I know that you would prefer this silence between us to stretch on a few years more—if not for an eternity. Alas, I do not have many years left. In fact, I fear that lately I have been measuring time in far […]
Brandon Michael Drew was born into a family that had, for at least two centuries, been on the rise — financially speaking at least. The beginning of the family’s ascendancy into wealth had begun in Holland, during the Dutch Golden Age, when Brandon’s great-great-grandfather—a shoemaker by trade—had made his fortune by cashing in on the […]
