This is my latest release - it was in the Regency Romantics Christmas box set last year. J D Smith always produces an excellent cover for me.
This year's title for The Regency Romantics is called 'A Most Unexpected Christmas'. So far I've managed to muddle the titles and covers twice - and have just realised the cover, I inadvertently had designed for next year's single release, shows a summer scene when the book takes place in the snow. I shall get J D Smith to change the title and use this for another book.
Here is the opening scene:
December 1815
‘Mama, Amanda, you
must be freezing. It’s damnably cold in here.’ Guy gathered up the fur from his
knees and carefully tucked it around his sister and his mother.
‘It’s been snowing
for the past hour, Bromley, should we not have stopped at the last inn and taken
shelter from the blizzard?’ Harry, his junior by eight years and heir to his
earldom and vast estates, shifted his weight and the carriage rocked.
‘Sit still, Harry,
you’ll have us in the ditch,’ Amanda snapped. ‘Mama, I’m going to cast up my
accounts if I do not get out of this carriage immediately.’ His sister was an
indifferent traveller and had been begging him to curtail their journey for
this past hour.
He sincerely
regretted agreeing to spend the Christmas period with his uncle in Suffolk when
the weather was so inclement. They would have been better to remain at home in
Hertfordshire, but his siblings and mama had been determined to celebrate
Christ’s name day with their cousins where there would be parties and jollity. For
his maternal uncle Christmas was enjoyed in the old-fashioned way. Since his
wife had died from the wasting sickness two years ago there had been nothing to
celebrate at Bromley Court.
Guy
leaned over and was about to unhook the leather strap that held the window when
his world turned upside down. As the carriage tumbled sideways he braced
himself against the sides and prayed his family would suffer no serious harm from
the accident.
His
sister’s scream ripped the air and then he was crushed beneath a tangle of arms
and legs as the vehicle settled, with an ominous crack on its side.
‘Everyone,
remain still, don’t try and get up until I can discover exactly what has
occurred.’
‘Bromley,
you nincompoop, we’ve overturned, even I know that.’ Harry’s voice came from
the other side of the carriage.
‘Mama,
Amanda, are you hurt?’ Guy carefully removed his right hand from the side of
the carriage and gently touched the inert form resting on his chest. This meant
him taking the weight entirely on his left arm. He was fairly sure it was his
sister who was crushed against him and she was disturbingly still.
‘I
am unhurt, Bromley, I landed on top of your brother and he broke my fall. Why
isn’t Amanda speaking to us?’
‘She’s
unconscious, Mama, but from my investigation I think her merely stunned.’ He
had no idea if this was the case, but thought it wise not to send his mother
into a conniption fit.
The
clattering and noise that had been coming from the horses stopped and Fred, his
head coachman, banged on the side of the coach. ‘My lord, you must keep still,
the carriage is perilously balanced above a deep ditch. The axle broke and this
tipped us over.’
‘Understood.
Use the horses to pull the carriage upright, but be quick, Lady Amanda is
injured.’
‘There’s
a drive leading to a big house – I’ve sent Tom on one of the horses to fetch
help. We’ll have you all out of there right smart, my lord.’
‘Excellent.
Are the horses unharmed?’
‘Yes,
my lord, but I fear the carriage is done for.’
Amanda
groaned and tried to move. ‘Hush, little one, you must remain still. We shall
be out of here soon and in the warm.’
As
he spoke he was aware that icy water was already seeping through the door and
his heavy travelling coat was becoming unpleasantly wet. He daren’t move as
this might tip the carriage further into the ditch. ‘Harry, I shall need you
and mama to move backwards very slowly in a minute. Be ready to stop if we
start to slide further into the ditch.’
His
back was already wet and if he didn’t get himself clear of the water he feared
his sister would soon be damp as well as concussed.
‘Fred,
tie the harness to the wheels and get the remaining animals to take the strain.
We cannot wait for help to arrive. We must do something now.’
His
coachman shouted his agreement and a few minutes later the coach rocked and
then it slowly moved towards the road. ‘Right, my lord, all secure, you won’t
tip no further.’
‘Harry,
Mama, roll towards the road. Do it now.’ Guy placed one arm around his sister
and then threw his considerable weight forward. The carriage groaned and
creaked as if alive and slowly righted itself. They were now jammed into the
well of the carriage and his sister was still not fully conscious. He had
managed to protect her as the vehicle rolled and was sure she had suffered no
further harm.
The
door opened and Fred pulled down the steps and assisted his mother to her feet.
His brother had remained where he was.
‘I
didn’t want to say anything, Bromley, but I’m damned if I haven’t broken my
leg.’
‘Stay
where you are, old fellow, I’ll hand Amanda out and then we can see to you.’
A
tall, young man stepped forward through the blizzard and held out his arms to
receive Amanda’s semi-conscious body. ‘Allow me, sir, I’m Richard Hadley, I
live at the Abbey. I can hold her until help arrives.’
Guy
handed his sister across. ‘Here, Hadley, wrap her in this fur. There are
several others in here, would you be kind enough to give them to my mother?’
Once
he was sure his family were as warm and safe as they could be in the
circumstances Guy turned his attention to his brother. From the angle of his
leg it was a nasty break and moving him without doing further damage was going
to be all but impossible.
The
snow was muffling all sound and he doubted if he’d hear rescue approaching
until it arrived. He strained his ears and was certain there was a horse
approaching at a gallop. Tom reined in and told them a carriage was on its way.
‘Return
to the house, Tom, tell them my brother has broken his leg and will require a
trestle to get him to safety.’
The
boy touched his cap and disappeared into the swirling whiteness.
*
Cressida
was gazing out of the window at the flurries of snow. ‘I think this year we’ll
have a white Christmas, Papa, it’s already settling.’
Her
father, Colonel John Hadley, peered at her over his newspaper. ‘I shall have to
cancel our New Year ball if that’s the case.’
Sarah,
her younger sister by three years, jumped to her feet and ran to the window.
‘It might be pretty, but I hate the snow. I shan’t be able to ride and we shall
have no visitors at all until it goes.’
‘Where
is your brother? I’ve not seen him since last night.’
She
and Sarah exchanged a worried glance. ‘I believe he stayed in the village,
Papa, some of his friends from Oxford were passing through.’
‘As
long as it’s not those rackety fellows from London – they will lead Richard
into further mischief and I might not be able to extricate him next time.’
Cressida
was about to turn away when Sarah clutched her arm. ‘Look, there’s a youth in
livery galloping down the drive. If I’m not mistaken he’s riding a carriage
horse.’
Immediately
her father was on his feet. ‘There must have been an accident. Girls, inform
the housekeeper that we need chambers preparing.’ He strode from the room to
organise a rescue.
Cressida
hurried after him eager to hear how many visitors they might expect. ‘I
sincerely hope no one has been seriously hurt, the weather is worsening and I
doubt anyone will get through to the doctor in the next village.’
‘Mama
taught you everything she knew about healing and herbs. I doubt there’s another
young lady in the county who could set a bone or stitch a wound the way you
can.’ Papa smiled down at her.
‘Sarah,
please find Miller whilst I prepare my basket and arrange for hot water to be fetched.’
She paused as something occurred to her. ‘I think it might be wise to have the
downstairs apartment made ready in case anyone is seriously injured. It will be
far easier to nurse them down here. Don’t forget there will be servants as well
as the travellers to provide for.’
Her
sister ran off – there was no need to remind her about warning their head groom
– Sarah preferred animals to humans and her first concern would be for the
horses. Since their beloved mama had died three years ago it had fallen to Cressida
to take over the running of the household and all thought of having a Season
had been put to one side.
For
Cressida this had been a relief more than anything else for she had been
dreading spending several months being ogled and crushed at a variety of routs
and balls. Papa wished Sarah to make her come out in March next year – at
eighteen years of age she would be a year or two older than most debutantes –
but her sister was equally reluctant to go to London and be paraded like a
prize heifer in front of suitable bachelors.
As
she passed through the impressive entrance hall, Grimshaw, the butler, opened
the front door and an icy blast of snow and wind filled the space. She waited in
order to hear exactly what had transpired at the end of the drive. Knowing the
extent of any injuries that had been sustained would make her task much easier.
The
young coachman refused to come in after delivering his message and vaulted onto
his waiting horse and thundered off down the drive again. Her father appeared,
in his riding coat and beaver, on the gallery and came down the steps three at
a time.
‘Earl
Bromley, Lady Bromley, his mother, and his brother and sister were in the coach
that overturned. Lady Amanda appears to be the only one injured, which is a
relief. I shall leave Miller to arrange suitable accommodation for our
unexpected guests.’
‘I’m
sending a carriage to collect them, my dear, and I’ll accompany it. It’s damned
dark outside and barely two o’clock. Get Cook to bring dinner forward – no
doubt they’ll be sharp-set after this mishap and want to eat as soon as
possible.’
‘They
will be without their luggage and will require fresh garments. However, I’ll
have to wait until I meet this family of aristocrats before finding them
something suitable.’
‘I
expect they’ll need personal servants too, get Grimshaw to find somebody for
the earl and his brother, and Miller can do the same for the ladies.’
He
strode off to the side door which led directly to the stables leaving her to
hurry to her still room at the rear of the house. It was here that she prepared
the concoctions and tisanes she prescribed for both indoor and outdoor staff.
Possibly she would have been burned as a witch two hundred years ago, but
nowadays most people were more enlightened.
The
local physician was in his dotage and still believed that everything could be
cured by bleeding. For this reason her mother had taken over the task of
doctoring on their estate and had passed on her extensive knowledge to
Cressida.
By
the time she had assembled the things she thought she might need a quarter of
an hour had passed. She carried a basket to the downstairs apartment that had
been occupied by her grandfather. Whilst her father had been fighting the
French, her mother and her siblings had remained with Grandfather. When the war
ended last year Papa had finally come home to take over the estate which had
been run in his absence by a highly competent estate manager.
Her
eyes filled as she recalled the dreadful winter three years ago when Mama had
died from the putrid sore throat. Her father had not heard of her demise until
they were out of mourning and by then there was little point in him returning.
Richard
had been sent down from Oxford shortly after Mama died and since then had
fallen from one scrape to another. His intention had been to join papa’s
regiment, but new officers were not needed now Bonaparte was safely captured. Where
was he? Why hadn’t he returned last night?
She
pushed her concerns aside; her brother was a grown man and capable of taking
care of himself. She must concentrate on helping the occupants from the coach.
Although the building had been in the Hadley family for generations, they were
not part of the elite that ruled the country. They had no wish to be ennobled
and kept well away from politics. The thought of having such top lofty folk
staying with them over the Christmas period filled her with foreboding.
The
house was bustling with maids and footmen fetching and carrying items for the
underused apartment downstairs. This had been under holland covers since her
grandfather had died and she hoped the rooms would not be damp.
Miller
was directing operations and Cressida was pleased to see that fires had been
lit and the chambers were no longer below freezing.
‘The
beds are made and warming pans have been passed through. I’ve cleared the table
by the washstand for you, Miss Hadley; will that be sufficient for your needs?’
‘Thank
you, Miller, you’ve thought of everything. I expect Lord Bromley and his family
will be here shortly. As soon as we can see their size and shape we can find
them fresh clothes.’
‘I’ve
already found nightshirts and nightgowns, underpinnings and wraps – I can have
everything else collected as soon as they arrive. I’ve put Earl Bromley in the
best apartment, the Dowager Lady Bromley next door to him and everything is
also ready in the smaller guest chamber. Until we know who is going to be
sleeping down here, I cannot complete my preparations.’
Cressida
put down her basket as the housekeeper was speaking and began to arrange the
things she thought she might need. ‘There must be at least two coachmen and
they will need accommodation outside with our grooms and gardeners.’
‘Miss
Sarah has seen to that. It’s a good thing the pantries are wellstocked because
of the Christmas festivities, I doubt that anyone will be able to deliver extra
provisions until the snow has gone.’
Once
she was sure everything was as prepared as it could be Cressida ran upstairs
and put on her stout boots, muffler and cape just in case she was required to
go outside and assist when the carriage returned. She was on her way downstairs
when there was a second hammering on the door.
Grimshaw
spoke briefly to the person on the doorstep and then turned to her. ‘Lord
Bromley’s brother has broken his leg. They want a trestle to carry him back
here.’
‘Send
word outside. I must go too, have my horse saddled whilst I collect what I
need.’
Is it too early to wish you Happy Christmas? Thought so.
Fenella J Miller
