A Baffled Lord and a Bolting Lady!
Six highly placed matrons mourn their lack of daughters until they devise a scheme to launch eligible girls in need of assistance, and so The Society of Sponsoring Ladies is born.
Miss Grace Yardley, daughter of the deceased Viscount Barlow, has been relegated to the dilapidated dower house of Barlow Hall with her sickly mother. She is certain Lady Barlow cannot survive long in those leaking and drafty rooms, but she sees no way out. For a moment, it seemed they had been thrown a life ring, by way of a certain Lady Heathway who wished to sponsor Grace for a London season. Unfortunately, Lady Barlow is not well enough to manage on her own and the invitation is regretfully declined.
George Wade, Viscount Gresham and nephew to Lady Heathway, is well-used to his aunt calling upon him for a small favor. Often the favors turn out not so small, and this latest is no exception. He'd been under the impression that they only traveled to Kent to collect Miss Yardley, her latest project. Instead, he discovers on arrival that they will practically kidnap the girl away from her ailing mother.
As Lady Heathway never retreats from battle, Lady Barlow's objections are overcome and Grace is taken to London. However, sickly Lady Barlow is not willing to wave the white flag altogether and Grace's mind and heart are pulled in two different directions-should she stay in London or return to Kent?
Viscount Gresham will find himself trying to save the family from scandal, or as he thinks of it: "How to stop The Sprinter from sprinting." He may well find his hands full in the effort, as Miss Yardley proves to be a rather impossible lady.
A Series of Worthy Young Ladies
The Meddler
The Sprinter
The Undaunted
The Champion
The Jilter
The Royal
By the time I was eleven, my Irish Nana and I had formed a book club of sorts. On a timetable only known to herself, Nana would grab her blackthorn walking stick and steam down to the local Woolworth's. There, she would buy the latest Barbara Cartland romance, hurry home to read it accompanied by viciously strong wine, (Wild Irish Rose, if you're wondering) and then pass the book on to me. Though I was not particularly interested in real boys yet, I was very interested in the gentlemen in those stories-daring, bold, and often enraging and unaccountable. After my Barbara Cartland phase, I went on to Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen and so many other gifted authors blessed with the ability to bring the Georgian and Regency eras to life.I would like nothing more than to time travel back to the Regency (and time travel back to my twenties as long as we're going somewhere) to take my chances at a ball. Who would take the first? Who would escort me into supper? What sort of meaningful looks would be exchanged? I would hope, having made the trip, to encounter a gentleman who would give me a very hard time. He ought to be vexatious in the extreme, and worth every vexation, to make the journey worthwhile.I most likely won't be able to work out the time travel gambit, so I will content myself with writing stories of adventure and romance in my beloved time period. There are lives to be created, marvelous gowns to wear, jewels to don, instant attractions that inevitably come with a difficulty, and hearts to break before putting them back together again. In traditional Regency fashion, my stories are clean-the action happens in a drawing room, rather than a bedroom.As I muse over what will happen next to my H and h, and wish I were there with them, I will occasionally remind myself that it's also nice to have a microwave, Netflix, cheese popcorn, and steaming hot showers.
