Book Title: LADY DARING
Character Name: Henrietta Wardley-Hines
Time: May 1791
What brings you to London? This is your first Season, correct?
It is my first Season, and I’m told I’m far too old to make a proper debut, but will please Lady Mama—that is my stepmother, Lady Clarinda. She is so terribly plumped that Jasper has been elevated with a knighthood—that is my father, Sir Jasper Wardley-Hines as he is styled now. What fun his suppliers and wholesalers are going to have with him when we return to Lancashire! Sir Jasper will be roasted everywhere, I don’t doubt. There’s been any number of comments here about mill owners who are plump in the pocket filling the King’s coffers in return for titles. They say that is how Jasper won Lady Mama, too—an earl’s daughter marrying a mushroom, that scandal still seems terribly current in some minds, I’m afraid.
Still, I’ve agreed to make my curtsy to the Queen to do my duty by Wardley name, as my own dear Mama had a proper debut ages ago, and Aunt Davinia will like to think of me presented, though she won’t come to see it. But if you ask what brings me to London, it is the Minerva Society.
I’ve heard of the Minerva Society. It’s a social club of sorts, for women interested in current events?
Oh, the Minerva Society is much more than that. It’s—well, I couldn’t tell you all they do, as there are some higher levels to which I have not yet been admitted, though I hope to be. My schoolmistress, Miss Gregoire, who runs the school I attended in Bath, she is a great supporter and speaks often of the good the Minerva Society has done. My mother was a votary, that is what they call the members of the Society’s inner circle, and Lady Bess—that is the Countess Bessington, I am certain you have heard her name—she believes I might be elected a votary, too.
But any woman with interest might become a general member of the Minerva Society, and anyone at all might attend our debates. They are on topics of general relevance and usually very illuminating. You must come to mine, although I haven’t yet settled on a subject. Also, we at the Minerva Society support many worthy causes. We are at present gathering funds to support the new settlers who are going to Sierra Leone; there is the Benevolence Hospital for the Support of Women and Orphans in Distressed Circumstances; and there is a petition I am circulating calling on Parliament to abolish the Slave Act and the slave trade. I have it right here—you might sign before you go.
So, the Season. You must be thinking of suitors.
Not particularly. I’ve too much else to do at the moment. I have my estate of Birch Vale to run, and that alone is enough to keep me busy. Have you tasted my butter? The butter from Birch Vale is the best in the county. You must try it when you call on Lady Mama. There is also an old corn will I am hoping to purchase in Bamford. I plan to make it into a cotton mill, though Jasper teases me about setting myself up as a rival.
Then there are my darling little half-sisters to look after, angels all, and the not-insignificant challenge of seeing Charley settled. That is my brother—he inherited the Wardly baronetcy by special remainder, so he may style himself Sir Charleton Wardley-Hines, Bart., but really he has become a bit neck-or-nothing since he moved to London, going about in rowdy circles. Perhaps you might bring your lovely grand-nieces when you call, Lady Cranbury? My brother’s estate yields a pleasant income—I have given him some advice in that respect—and he is good at heart, though you mightn’t know that just by looking. I believe a wife with good sense would do a good deal to steady him and bring him a sense of purpose.
So suitors do not interest you? At all?
Oh, perhaps in good time, after Lady Mama has come safely through her happy event and the family has returned to our villa in Rossdale. But then I shall have my mill to put in order, and things to look after in Birch Vale. And I hope to be very active with the Minerva Society, such good causes as they support. From what I have observed of the Season so far, dangling out for a husband is a sorry use of a woman’s talents and skills. Are you acquainted with Miss Wollstonecraft’s arguments in A Vindication on the Rights of Women? I was much struck by her command to find a partner and companion who is one’s equal in reason and industry. Mary Wollstonecraft deplores when women are led about by their passions, which leads to all manner of trouble. She thinks we females ought to be guided by our intellect, and I agree.
Clearly you have never been in love.
It seems a great bother, honestly. And if a woman is to surrender her person, her property, and all her future hopes to a man on a promise alone, then certainly marriage seems a negotiation to approach with great caution. I am glad to be clear of the business. My brush with courtship is looking out for Marsi—that is my adorable cousin, Miss Marsibel Pomeroy, who possesses every possible attribute a young lady of breeding could boast, and is a darling besides. I wish she could have come with me today, but Aunt Althea is trotting her out somewhere, hoping for the highest possible match.
I hope your aunt will keep Miss Pomeroy clear of Lord Daring. Have you heard what he has done?
I have not, though I am sure it is something properly terrible, given the cartoons one sees in all the papers. However, I have an appointment with Lady Bess, business with the Minerva Society, and then my debate to prepare for, so I mightn’t stay for gossip. Please do call on us at Hines House, Lady Cranbury, and will you sign my petition before I go?
Having your signature would lend our cause a great deal of influence. And I do hope you will attend my debate. Perhaps I should make my topic how to avoid a rake, as this Lord Daring seems to have caused a great deal of destruction. Pity a man with such a divine face should have a rotten core.
Ladies Least Likely #8
A woman who won’t be ruined
London, 1792. Henrietta Wardley-Hines, bluestocking, plans to use her father’s new knighthood to wrangle her way into the Minerva Society, a group of powerful women committed to social reform. That means she must steer clear of rakes like the man they call Lord Daring, famous for ruining innocents.
A man who refuses to repent
Henrietta needs polish to be a force in higher circles, and Lord Darien Bales has that in spades. He also requires her help—or that of her powerful relations—in blocking a legal suit to take away his brother’s inheritance. But Darien warns his enterprising new accomplice not to meddle in his latest scandal, the one with the duke’s daughter; he’s not in search of reform.
When Henrietta’s debate for the Minerva Society lands her in jail, it is Darien who risks his own standing to clear her of accusations of treason. But he’ll have to risk life and limb—and confront her own betrayal—if Darien wants to convince the stubborn reformer who has upended his life that he is worthy of her heart.
Rescuing the reformer is going to ruin the rake…
Romance Historical [ Oliver-Heber Books, On Sale: November 18, 2025, e-Book, / ]
Misty Urban is a medieval scholar, freelance editor, and college professor who likes to write stories about misbehaving women who find adventure and romance. She holds an MFA and Ph.D. from Cornell University and lives in the Midwest in a little town on a big river.
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