Julian Silvester is happily betrothed to Miss Jane Leavitt,
and time passes slowly in London as he waits for the lady's
father to allow them to set a date. He becomes interested
in the matter of a less fortunate young lady, Miss Hannah
Andersen, whose soldier father is thought to have killed
himself in South Africa. This, combined with her sad lack
of funds, makes her less than respectable in the eyes of
the Ton.
THE SCANDAL IN HONOR is second in the entertaining Lord
Trevelin Mystery series. I had not read the first
but our
hero, only son of a marquis, is an interesting character.
He is not allowed to go to war -- this is 1814 -- but follows
international affairs with interest. He bears a dueling
scar from a previous adventure, and after meeting the
impecunious Miss Andersen, offers to pay, quite privately,
for the clothing she needs about town. They have to keep
this arrangement secret in case the gossips wonder what is
going on between them. Miss Andersen's protective mother
dies shortly after they attend a lively ball, and the young
orphan whispers that she believes murder was involved.
Lady Marlowe, in whose town house the Andersens stayed, is
convinced that Hannah is inventing stories to keep the
marquis's son in attendance on her, despite the fact that
he is engaged. The young lady says that her mother was not
in good health, and Dr. Nuttall may have poisoned her. Other
possibilities arise, but why would anyone have wanted Mrs.
Andersen dead? Julian asks a few questions of the staff,
but he can't make head nor tail of it.
Other characters include Jack, the young valet who is a
staunch friend to Julian and accompanies him on adventures.
A mature lady Mrs. Smurthwaite is similar to Mrs. Malaprop,
injecting humor into conversations unintentionally as she
mixes up words and pronunciations. As for Jane Leavitt, we
mainly see her shopping for wedding dresses, but at this
time young women were not allowed to do very much, nor to
hold strong opinions. Their lessons concerned proper
conduct and deportment. This whole story is a drama of
manners, emotions, and responsibilities.
The tale will continue with THE MURDER IN MIRTH set
around a Christmas country house party. These are unusual
mysteries in the Napoleonic era setting, and not as
romantic as we might first imagine. Heidi Ashworth also
writes Regency romances, so
anyone who enjoys those stories will want to try THE
SCANDAL IN HONOR.
What is the price one must pay to protect one's honor? Or
that of another? It has been two years since the duel that
changed Julian, Lord Trevelin's life. He is now happily
betrothed to Miss Jane Leavitt, a wealthy debutante. Her
influence has helped to restore his reputation among
Society. Her father, however, has not allowed the connection
to be made public. He disapproves of Trev's penchant for
looking into unsavory matters such as pinched diamond
necklaces and dead downstairs maids. He will allow the
couple to set a date for their wedding when he is satisfied
that Trev will look after his own reputation with the same
care as does Jane.
Meanwhile, Trev is taken with the rumors about Miss Hannah
Andersen, a young lady newly arrived in London for the
season. Her military father was said to have put a period to
his existence in order to escape the consequences of fleeing
a battle with his wife and child. She, however, insists his
death was an accident. Trev can't resist attempting to set
the man's reputation to rights. He is assisted by his
ethereal friend, Willy, and the boot boy-cum-valet, Jack.
When several more "accidents" occur, Trev's list of murder
suspects grows. And then his cousin Evelyn threatens him
with ruin if he does not release Jane to his clutches--only,
this time, it will be her honor that shall be irrevocably
tarnished.
THE SCANDAL IN HONOR is book two in The Lord Trevelin
Mysteries. Be sure to also read the first book in this
captivating Regency-era mystery series about one man's
journey to redemption, told through the eyes of the one
whose absolution he longs for the most: his own.
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