Lady Isabel Otford, Countess of Thrapsley
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| Lady Isabel |
Lady Isabel d'Arras is the
only child of the late 7th Earl of Blencathra. She was born in
1796 and grew up within the shadow of the Lake District mountains of
Cumberland, close to the Scottish border. The progenitors of the d'Arras family were believed to have come over
from France with William the Conqueror (hence the French surname), but
whilst they were excellent soldiers, they were a bit too 'lively' for
court life, and so were given lands on the Scottish border, with the job
of keeping Scottish incursions onto William's new territories at bay.
Down the centuries their usefulness was rewarded with honours and lands,
becoming Barons and then Earls, though they never quite achieved the
total respectability of their more southern fellow nobles. This was probably due to the fact that though the d'Arras's executed their border duties carefully and with great vigour, they also made cross border alliances via both strategic marriages and love matches, which, though in some ways it helped with peace negotiations, it also made their allegiances slightly more questionable that they might otherwise have been.
At the age of twelve Isabel was introduced to her new lady's maid, Euphemia 'Phamie', Armstrong (qv) - a distant relative on her mother's side. Phamie soon became her closest female ally, and when Isabel's mother died when she was fourteen, it was Phamie who provided the stability that any teenage girl needs, her father having gone to pieces on the death of his wife. Her only other ally was her cousin Hew, who was the second son of her Uncle Joseph - her father's heir apparent. Hew was also largely ignored by his sole remaining parent, so they had much in common, despite their age difference. Whenever possible they met up and roamed the hills and valleys of their home county, imagining the rather more entertaining and fulfilling lives that they would achieve when they reached adulthood. But soon Hew too was gone, having suffered a youthful heartbreak, he determined to leave all behind and seek his fortune in India.
Isabel soon found herself having to take on her mother's role in keeping the household together, but coped well with the help of Phamie. However, it soon became apparent that her father had taken refuge in alcohol to alleviate despair, and was allowing the family estates to go to rack and ruin. So Isabel stepped up once again, and somehow managed to drag the estates back from the brink.
Unfortunately she had no control over her father's social life, and so it came as quite a shock to discover that he had run up significant debts gambling, and consequently Isabel was expected to 'marry well' to save the family from bankruptcy. As Isabel, a recognised beauty, enjoyed her her first London Season on the marriage mart, it soon became apparent that she was not going to struggle to find a suitable match, and so felt no guilt in enjoying herself for the first time in her life. Her coterie of admirers was sufficiently broad and well-heeled that she thought she had plenty of time to choose, and hopefully to find the love match that she desired.
Her dreams were abruptly shattered when her father told her that she was to marry, Neville Otford, Earl of Thrapsley, a man three times her age, and the father to one of her throng of admirers.
Horrified, she protested, but was crushed to find that unless she married the Earl immediately, that both she and her father could find themselves in debtor's prison. The Earl had agreed to pay off her father's debts and supply a generous marriage settlement to seal the deal. Totally numb with horror, Isabel accepted the inevitable with the one caveat that Phamie must accompany her as her lady's maid. They were married quietly by special license, with the additional problem of a major row having broken out between her new husband and his son, Cedric. Cedric had convinced himself that he and Isabel were in love and would marry. Mystified by his declaration, as she had given him no encouragement, and had not thought his affections had been engaged either, she took refuge in learning how to become the perfect political hostess that her new husband demanded.
Treading a very narrow path, she survived her role as one of the more prominent political hostesses, whilst learning to repel the unwanted advances of 'gentlemen' who thought that she must be in need of their 'attentions' as it was widely known that her husband had serious health issues. The only consolation in this was that despite her beauty and Phamie's potions, the marriage remained unconsummated, and Isabel, though taking her other wifely duties seriously, could live in the hope that someday she might be able to live her own life on her own terms - however simply that might be.
After six years in a loveless marriage and having nursed her husband the the final throes of his illness, Isabel finally found herself a widow in the December of 1820, and wondered what fate had in store for her now.
And the rest of Isabel's story is to be found in 'Lady Isabel's Inheritance', available on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
Lord Theo Brockworth, Third Marquess of Norcombe
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| Lord Theo Brockworth, 3rd Marquess of Norcombe |
Theo Brockworth, a reluctant darling of the ton, would rather be riding around his estate in the beautiful Cotswolds than attending either Parliament or Society Balls in London. Unfortunately, noblesse oblige requires him to do both, and this circumstance brings with it the daily risk of being trapped into a forced marriage by the ambitious Mamas and their daughters, who stalk the Society ballrooms during the Season.
Born in 1789, Theo like many fellow noblemen attended both Eton and Oxford, where he gained a reputation for being likeable and studious. His formidable size ensured that bullies avoided him, but ladies of all ages were always well aware of his attractive and pleasant presence. At thirty one, he is at just the right age to get married, and being handsome, rich, titled and very pleasant doesn't reduce his attractiveness, one iota. In fact, it is these attributes that have made him the target of ambitious, unscrupulous, predatory females.
Being relentlessly hunted by a pack of determined females has made him very wary of the female of the species, and he is disinclined to trust any female who crosses his path in unexpected circumstances. However, in an ideal world, he would just like to enjoy being a gentleman farmer, and if he could find a suitable genuine lady, with whom he could imagine spending the next forty or so years, he'd marry her tomorrow, and be a very happy man. Unfortunately, he hasn't met anybody that remotely fits that description.
The Brockworth family have lived in Gloucestershire for hundreds of years, starting as humble yeoman farmers, but their hard work, canny business acumen, and wits have gradually seen them rise through the ranks of gentry through to minor nobility, to their situation now, where they are counted as one of the great noble families of the nation.
Despite this, Theo prefers simple country life to sophisticated town life - the only attraction that London holds for him is the relatively easy access to the many records held there. Theo has spent many years trying to fill the gaps in the family history, which came about when during the mid-eighteenth century the original family home in Norcombe Abbey - the Old Hall, was precipitately lost to the family, and with it much of the family records.
He is also aware of the changing times he lives in, and recognises that the time honoured ownership of land - the traditional base for the fortunes of the Aristocracy, threatens to become less economically viable. Because of this change of circumstances, he has made it his business to keep abreast of the technological and social changes of the times. His gut instinct is that resting on time-honoured laurels will not guarantee the prosperity of his family in the long term, and to this end, he is quietly establishing connections with the up and coming 'new men and ideas' of the late Georgian era.
As the head of the Brockworth family, he guides his younger remaining siblings with a gentle if firm hand. They are all agreed that he deserves to find love - the only problem is - is there any lady that deserves him?
Theo is enormously tall, broad shouldered, grey eyed with dark honey blonde hair which bleaches in the sun. He is happiest wearing comfortable old clothes suitable for helping out on his estates. As a man of the outdoors, he often sports an unfashionable tan in the summer, and has been known to just 'muck in' with the ordinary farmhands at harvest time when crops need to be urgently brought in before the weather breaks.
But despite his lack of fashionability, the ladies are just mesmerised when a rare brilliant white smile flashes across his handsome face. He under no illusion that a good part of his appeal is due to his wealth and status - how is he ever going to find a lady who loves him just for himself?
His new, fascinating neighbour, however, seems to be unimpressed. Lady Isabel even compares him to a marauding Viking!
Theo is the 'patriarch' of the Brockworth Chronicles and will appear throughout the series of novels.
In 'Lady Isabel's Inheritance' we find Theo having a less than smooth ride in addressing at least one of his pressing problems - finding a satisfactory wife! Available as an e-book now at Amazon
Miss Euphemia Armstrong (Phamie)
Miss Euphemia Armstrong (Phamie)
Phamie, at the beginning of Lady Isabel's Inheritance, is Lady Isabel's lady's maid. Born in Annandale on the Scottish side of the border, she is a member of the great Armstrong Lowland Clan. This family, broadly spread throughout the border area, has been famous throughout history for its strong association with raiding on the English side of the Border, and the various deeds and misdeeds of the legendary Border Reivers.
As the only daughter of a somewhat notorious branch of the family, she escaped being a drudge for her brothers at the age of eighteen, and moved south of the border to take up the position of lady's maid to the only child of the Earl of Blencathra, whose wife was related distantly to the Armstrongs. Though technically a member of the Scottish Gentry, she found life as a maid much more comfortable than being housekeeper for her unruly and often violent brothers.
She also brought with her traditional skills in the use of herbs for medicinal purposes, and was recognised at an early age as a skilled healer. This encyclopaedic knowledge fostered in her a love of plants and their cultivation.
When Isabel moved to London for her Season, accompanied by her maid, Phamie explored all the available sources of knowledge accessible to her in her new master's (Isabel's first husband - Lord Neville Otford) library. Eventually, assuming a false identity (Edwin Armstrong), she frequently corresponded with the experts at Chelsea Physick Garden, and other institutions. This nearly had disastrous consequences when one of her correspondents came looking for their knowledgeable contact. Thinking quickly, Phamie claimed to be his assistant, and to be acting on his behalf whilst he was away plant hunting. She continues corresponding widely with plant experts and innovators in medical treatments. She is a great proponent of the relatively new fashion of vaccinating against small pox.
Having been Isabel's main support throughout her teenage years and for the six years of her loveless marriage, Isabel insists that Phamie becomes her companion when, on her widowhood, she becomes independently wealthy and owner of her own house and estate.
Enjoying her relative new found freedom, as Isabel is largely occupied with getting to grips with running her new estate, Phamie has free run of most of Isabel's gardens and glasshouses.
Her skills with herbs and potions soon comes to the attention of the local physician - Dr Hastings, and whilst they enjoy lively debates (sometimes disagreements), they recognise in each other a total dedication to helping others in times of sickness.
Phamie appears frequently in 'Lady Isabel's Inheritance', and will reappear from time to time throught the Brockworth Chronicles series of books.
Lady Lucinda Brockworth, Dowager Marchioness of Norcombe
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| Lady Lucinda Brockworth, Dowager Marchioness of Norcombe |
Lady Lucinda, widow of Theodore Henry 'Hal' Brockworth, 2nd Marquess of Norcombe, manages to keep her large family together despite the changing times that she is living through. The youngest daughter of Lord Percival Fothergill, Baron Fylingdale, an impoverished horse breeder from Yorkshire, she was hailed as a 'Diamond of the First Water', when she made her debut, and was besieged by avid suitors for her hand.
Enormously fond of Hal, she did her duty and married him in 1788, and thereby helped to rescue her family's fortunes. They made a happy couple, and she dutifully presented him with a son the following year, and with three more sons and three daughters, intermittently thereafter.
During her happy marriage with Hal, Lady Lucinda enjoyed both her time at the ancestral home of the Brockworths near the picturesque Cotswold village of Norcombe Abbey and the more sophisticated lifestyle of the London Season. In both places she and her husband took great delight in lovingly shaping the gardens of both houses to their own shared tastes. She continues to be the main influence on both gardens, even when her son Theo acquires a bride.
She is an interested and canny mother, watching over her children carefully, but has learned how to take a back seat for most of the time as they grow towards maturity.
She has a lively sense of humour, and is popular both in town and country. Her closest friend is Lady 'Dolly' Godolph, whom she has known since childhood - both their fathers being involved with horse breeding.
To her children Lady Lucinda is a bit of an enigma, as it appears that many of the beaux of her youth (pre-marriage) have now re-gathered to pay her court when she is in Town. Though she finds the attention amusing, she has never really shown any real interest in any of them. But when the subject comes up in conversation occasionally, a faint wistful look passes over her face for a few seconds. Her family are mystified and slightly intrigued. There is something - but what, and will they ever find out exactly what it is?
Lady Serena Brockworth
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| Lady Serena Brockworth |
Serena is the eldest daughter of the Brockworth family, and was aptly named as she was such a happy, calm baby. She is known as the most tender-hearted of her siblings, and is universally loved and admired. A darling of the ton, and a 'Diamond of the First Water', she has somehow managed to reach the age of twenty two still unmarried. Whilst she would love to be married and start a family, she has refused many 'suitable' proposals as she is holding out for a love match.
However, her mother, the Dowager Marchioness, is getting slightly worried that her wonderful daughter is getting perlously close to be approaching being considered on 'the Shelf'!
Serena's talents lie in the traditional areas in which young aristocratic ladies are expected to excel. She draws and paints beautifully, embroiders with the skill of a professional, and sings like a veritable angel. Being also beautiful, well-dowered and connected, she is also the target of fortune hunters and those looking to make an advantageous marriage. After four years of being officially out, Serena and her friends, Lady Millie and Lady Fliss, have weighed up most of the gentlemen who might be considered good matches, and have found none to quite match up to their rather high expectations. The round of entertainments which they found so amusing when they were debutantes soon starts to pall with its predictable social round and limited all-too-familiar faces.
So when asked to help out with a Charity School for girls by a slightly older acquaintance, Lady Mary Somerskill, they lend their time initially on the teaching side, but when Lady Mary dies suddenly, they feel it to be incumbent upon themselves to continue with their mentor's work.
However, to do this, they will have to raise a considerable amount of money. All three ladies are talented, and each in a different sphere. Lady Millicent then comes up with the novel idea of publishing a magazine for ladies of the ton which will focus on fashion, current affairs, and serialise Lady Fliss's Gothick novels. They take the plunge and publish their magazine under nom de plumes, and to their astonishment it is an instant hit, bringing in a steady income stream. This not only supports the school, but also enables them to rescue more girls from the threat of being kidnapped and forced into lives of prostitution.
They operate, of course, under the constant fear that their work on their magazine, La Dernier Cri, might be discovered at any moment, which would plunge themselves and their families into instant disgrace and possible ruin.
Additionally, unknown to almost anyone else, Serena has also been indulging in her talent for design, creating original drawings for fashionable ladies outfits and unusual jewellery. Despite the danger, she finds it impossible to suppress her inner need to express her talents, even though, whilst her work is widely admired, no-one may ever know that she is the creator of them.
Can she continue to live this secret life of talented artist/designer and still manage to find the love of her life?
Lady Serena's Secret is now available as an e-book on Amazon
Hew d'Arras, Ninth Earl of Blencathra
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| Hew d'Arras, Earl of Blencathra |
Hew d'Arras has reluctantly returned to England, having vowed never to return, ten years previously. He has been forced to leave India due to the necessity of him taking up the reins of the Earldom, and because ill health would have ensured his early demise, if he had chosen to stay. So having resigned himself to the inevitable, he has decided to extend the gem and jewellery business he started in India to London, in partnership with his business partners sons the Elphinstones. He has also vowed to expand the family shipping business to become a global operation.
During his sojourn in India, he became fascinated by the vast cultural diversity and made a study of its languages, its art and poetry, both Hindu and Mughal. Loath to leave without some reminder of the fascinating and formative years spent in India, he has brought a veritable treasure of cultural artefacts home with him. He just needs somewhere to put them. Having revised his decision to maybe find somewhere warm and dry on the Continent to settle once his business affairs are settled, he decides he needs a house in London, as that is where he foresees himself spending most of his time in the immediate future. It will also re-establish the family name at its correct level in Society.
On arriving in London, he decides to look up his one remaining living blood relative, Isabel, who, he discovers is newly married to Theo Brockworth, Third Marquess of Norcombe. As an additional incentive, if one were needed, he hopes she will be able to help him locate a suitable house and advise him on the current fashions in decorations and furnishings. When Isabel invites Hew to join the family for breakfast, he is introduced to Lady Serena, to whom he is instantly attracted - a reaction he ruthlessly suppresses as she represents everything he has come to despise and distrust in females. She is a beautiful blue-eyed blonde, and reminds him of the faithless, two faced woman who drove him from England all those years ago.
As Hew gets to grip with his new life in London, he must run the gauntlet of dealing with Lady Serena, whom, though he is determined to ignore her, nevertheless fascinates him.
Serena and Hew's up/down merry-go-round of a relationship unfolds in the latest in the series of the Brockworth Chronicles:
'Lady Serena's Secret' is now available as an e-book on Amazon
Lord Nathaniel Brockworth
Lord Nathaniel Brockworth
At the start of the Brockworth Chronicles, Nathaniel is acting as his elder brother's, Theo, Marquess of Norcombe, steward, managing the Brockworth estates outside of London, whilst Theo fulfils his parliamentary duties. It's an arrangement that works well, but with which neither of them is particularly happy. Theo would rather be managing his estate, playing the gentleman farmer, and Nathaniel has always wanted to get seriously involved in politics.
Following an incident at a party in London just after he left Eton, Nathaniel's outlook on life changed irrevocably. Having followed his cronies and left a young lady in distress, he had felt instant remorse, and taken a long look at the lifestyle of his friends and young gentleman of his class. This reflection resulted in his changing his University course from Classics to Law, and a commitment to devoting his life to improving the lives of others and seeking greater equity in the world. Politics became evemore an attractive prospect as he pursued this line of interest.
This unfortunately had the effect of making him appear to be a very serious young man, some might say a little boring, with a tendency to get involved in deep political discussions rather than the lightweight, somewhat meaningless chit chat, that both men and women of his class tended to favour. As time went by he attended fewer ton events and chose to limit most of his socialising to those within the more intellectual and political echelons of the upper classes.
Despite this, those who know him well are well aware of his somewhat dry sense of humour and his undoubted abilities as a problem solver and an excellent administrator. He is always a welcome guest at any social event, being pleasant and an excellent dancer, though few ladies are bowled over by either his looks (which are pleasant rather than heartstopping), or his prospects (his salutation as Lord, is a courtesy one and not inheritable; his fortune respectable but not spectacular, and his estates modest). Most thought think he will marry well - more for his connections to Marquessate of Norcombe, than his own personal prospects. All tacitly agree that a well endowed lady of lower nobility or the gentry will probably be his marital future.
By the time we reach 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis', Nathaniel and Theo have largely swapped roles - Nathaniel is now a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Goring Magna, and Theo spends most of the year on his estates in the company of his adored wife Isabel and his new son, Theodore Henry, better know as Hal.
Establishing himself quickly in Parliamentary circles, with a reputation of being 'solid', and in receipt of some admiration for his handling of tricky 'enclosure' applications with facilicity and great diplomacy, Nathaniel is horrified when finds out that he has become the target of a political pamphleteer who writes under the pseudonym of 'Nemesis'.
Nathaniel makes a great effort to discover the identity of the writer of 'Nemesis', but to no avail. The irritating man has covered his tracks exceedingly well. Whilst Nathaniel continues to be plagued by Nemesis's jibes, he goes about his political work and intellectual interests quietly and efficiently, hoping that he will stumble across his foe at some point, and be able to extract his own retribution for the unfair treatment he has received.
Instead, he stumbles across Mr Seth Northley, an extremely wealthy and influential City businessman, who has collapsed in the foyer of The Royal Institution. Without a second thought he helps Mr Northley back to his impressive home in Bloomsbury, having acquired the help of both the Institution's servants and the services of the Physician to the King, who was also attending the Friday night regular lecture programme.
As he returns Mr Northley to the safety of his home, he encounters the gentleman's beautiful daughter, Miss Rebecca Northley, who understandably is extremely upset with the collapse of her father.
Thanks to Nathaniel's swift actions, Mr Northley survives a severe heart attack, but is slow to start recovering his previous strength and vigour. Though he is in no obligation to do so, Nathaniel calls with the excuse that he wishes to ensure that Mr Northley's recovery is progressing well, but in reality he also wishes to further his acquaintance with the stunning Miss Northley, to whom he is attracted. He is also intrigued by the fact that on a previous occasion (his sister Serena's first hosting of a ball as the newly wedded Countess of Blencathra) Rebecca Northley acted in a very peculiar manner on being introduced to him, and eventually had unceremoniously bolted from entertainment for no discernible reason.
Though it soon becomes apparent that there is definitely 'something' happening between them, Rebecca continues to be very evasive and blocks all Nathaniel's efforts to get to know her better.
The plot thickens and Nathaniel finds himself embroiled deeper and deeper in the Northley's affairs, with unexpected twists, revelations, and dangers appearing from entirely unexpected corners.
'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis' is now available as an e-book on Amazon. Click here to buy
Lady Rosamund Brockworth
Lady Rosamund is the family genius of the Brockworth Family, and has long been frustrated by the fact that, as a female, she is unable to attend University and that her life focus is centred on becoming a 'suitable wife' to an eligible gentleman of the ton. Additionally, the ton insists on comparing her to her elder sister Serena, who is not only stunningly beautiful but also possesses all the social graces that Rosamund demonstrably lacks.
The other problem is that she is far brainier and better educated than most men of her class, and because the normal preoccupations of girls in her own age group are so alien to her, she does not fit in. So attending The Season in London is pure torture for her.
She knows, and her family strongly suspects that the chances of her finding someone that she can at least like are probably slim to none. She would much rather be pursuing her academic interests or researching her current obsession: Lady Thomasina - a lady privateer who married into the Brockworth family in late Tudor times. Unfortunately, her research has hit a problem - the only person who might have further information on the fascinating lady - Lord Petroc Tregannon, Keeper of Kothgorr, has failed to reply to any of the three letters she has written requesting information.
And then an opportunity arises - the 'rudest man on the planet', as Rosamund has dubbed Petroc Tregannon has advertised for a temporary assistant over the summer months. Rosamund knows this is the opportunity she has been waiting for - two months of open access to the records of Kothgorr. She realises that they will be expecting male applicants, and her family would never let her go to work in the house of a single gentleman. Mmm - a conundrum. But Rosamund is not going to let that stop her, is she. It may be the opportunity she ever gets to do something that she wants to do. The lure of freedom and adventure is something that she cannot resist, and so she sets her formidable brain to the task of achieving her dream.
