Good afternoon to you all on this beautiful 21st of June, 1815. My name is Lady Petra Forsyth, and I am delighted to show you some of London. Oh! Yes, you are indeed correct, I am the daughter of the Earl of Holbrook. You may also have heard that I have announced my intention never to marry since I have a fortune of my own, and that is quite true as well.
Nevertheless, whilst my papa prefers to live at Buckfields, which is his seat in County Suffolk, he entrusts me to the care and running of Forsyth House here in London. In Berkeley Square, which is located in Mayfair, within London’s city of Westminster, to be quite specific.
But we must make haste on our tour, you understand, as certain parts of the city are already filling with people, and some streets may turn impassible. Why, have you not heard? The entire city is waiting with bated breath to hear if Wellington and his forces have finally defeated Napoleon, and word is expected sometime this evening. And if Wellington has succeeded, the Prince Regent shall declare three days of celebrations throughout the city.
Now, I shall first take you across Westminster Bridge to Lambeth—be certain to look at the Thames below and see all the lovely boats—and then we shall stop at the Asylum for Female Orphans. If I may entrust you with a secret, I have been given an important task by Her Majesty, Queen Charlotte, to investigate the suspicious death of the orphanage’s matron. In fact, I have also been charged by Her Majesty to discover whether there is a connection between the orphanage and a band of political radicals, some of whom have ties to the aristocracy!
What’s more, I must unravel both of these mysteries even as I ignore my broken heart in order to determine whether or not one Mr. Duncan Shawcross is the man I have always known and loved…or the man who, three years earlier, murdered my late fiancé. And blast it all, I cannot ask Duncan myself as the rogue has disappeared!
But, it is part of my headstrong nature to look to the positive, and thus we shall move on. We’ll travel back across the bridge, past the buildings of Parliament, and to St. James’s Park, where I shall meet two of my friends, Lady Caroline and Lottie, who I hope will help me to break into Buckingham House.
Yes, indeed, I am in earnest. I shall use my wits and my trusty lock picks to break into the Queen’s House in order to steal a letter that might just help me get closer to more than one truth. I can only hope I shall not encounter any footmen or handsome rogues as I do…
I also shall take you to Jermyn Street where, just down from the lovely Hatchard’s bookstore, is Bardwell’s Apothecary, run by my friend Frances. She has just received a delivery of hand-painted screens called transparencies. We all must select one for our windows, for when victory is announced and all of London is celebrating, we will help light up the streets of Mayfair by placing the transparency in a front window with a lit candle behind. Then, we may watch passers-by smile as the paintings all but comes to life.
And speaking of Mayfair—which stretches from Park Lane at Hyde Park on the west side all the way to Regent Street (formerly Swallow Street) on the east—it is becoming increasingly clear that the area I call home may hold the key to my determining the truth of all of my mysteries. With London about to be a mix of celebrations and turmoil, I will have a mere three days before everything could be lost. Do come along with me to find out how my heart and I both fare, won’t you?
Lady Petra Inquires #2
Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in this dazzling next installment in a captivating Regency-era mystery series with a feminist spin.
21 June, 1815. London may be cheering the news of Napoleon’s surrender at Waterloo, but Lady Petra Forsyth has little to celebrate after discovering that the death of her viscount fiancé three years earlier was no accident. Instead, it was murder, and the man responsible is her handsome, half-Scottish secret paramour Duncan Shawcross—yet the scoundrel has disappeared, leaving only a confusing riddle about long-forgotten memories in his wake.
So what’s a lady to do when she can’t hunt down her traitorous lover? She concentrates on a royal assignment instead. Queen Charlotte has tasked Petra with attending an event at the Asylum for Female Orphans and making inquiries surrounding the death of the orphanage’s matron. What’s more, there may be a link between the matron’s death and a group of radicals with ties to the aristocracy, as evidenced by an intercepted letter.
Then, Petra overhears a nefarious conversation with two other men about a plot to topple the monarchy, set to take place during three days of celebrations currently gripping London.
As the clock counts down and London’s streets teem with revelers, Petra’s nerves are fraying as her past and present collide. Yet while all’s fair in love and war, she can never surrender, especially when more orphaned girls may be in trouble. And to save their lives, the monarchy itself, and even her own heart, Lady Petra must face her fears with the strength of an army of soldiers and fight with the heart of a queen.
Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Historical [Minotaur Books, On Sale: November 12, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250867605 / eISBN: 9781250867612]
CELESTE CONNALLY is an Agatha Award nominee, and a former freelance writer and editor. A lifelong devotee of historical novels and adaptations fueled by her passion for history—plus weekly doses of PBS Masterpiece—Celeste loves reading and writing about women from the past who didn’t always do as they were told.
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