Introduction

As thirty-fifth in line for the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch may not be the most sophisticated young woman, but she knows her table manners. It’s forks on the left, knives on the right—not in His Majesty’s back…

Here I am thinking the education I received at my posh Swiss finishing school would never come in handy. And while it hasn’t landed me a job, or a husband, it has convinced Her Majesty the Queen and the Dowager Duchess to enlist my help. I have been entrusted with grooming Jack Altringham—the Duke’s newly discovered heir fresh from the Outback of Australia—for high society.

The upside is I am to live in luxury at one of England’s most gorgeous stately homes. But upon arrival at Kingsdowne Place, my dearest Darcy has been sent to fetch Jack, leaving me stuck in a manor full of miscreants…none of whom are too pleased with the discovery of my new ward.

And no sooner has the lad been retrieved than the Duke announces he wants to choose his own heir. With the house in a hubbub over the news, Jack’s hunting knife somehow finds its way into the Duke’s back. Eyes fall, backs turn, and fingers point to the young heir. As if the rascal wasn’t enough of a handful, now he’s suspected of murder. Jack may be wild, but I’d bet the crown jewels it wasn’t he who killed the Duke…

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Excerpt

Charlotte lit the candle and had one of the Starlings turn off the electric light. How different faces looked in the flickering flame. Those heavy drapes now seemed to hang ominously close. I began to wish I hadn’t come.

“All hold hands on the table,” Charlotte commanded.

Irene’s hand was icy cold. Jack’s was reassuring.

“Isn’t this exciting?” I heard one of the starlings whisper. “Feel my hand. It’s all a quiver.”

“Spirits from the other side, we call upon you,” Charlotte began in such a dramatic voice that I had to suppress the need to giggle. I wished Belinda had been present so that we could have kicked each other beneath the tablecloth, or that Darcy had been sitting across the table to give me a reassuring wink. “Come to our aid, dear spirits. Lady Hortense, are you present among us?”

A long silence followed only punctuated by the sound of a grandfather clock, ticking away solemnly somewhere outside in a hallway.

“Are you with us, Lady Hortense? Will you be our guide?”

The candle flickered and I felt a cold draft pass over me. I glanced over my shoulder. The door and the curtains were still closed. I thought I detected the faintest of voices whispering “Yessss.”

“She’s here,” Charlotte said excitedly. “I knew she’d come. Lady Hortense, we’d first like you to find John Altringham for us. You remember your great great grandson who died so bravely in the war? His son is here with us now. Do you see him? He’d like to hear his father’s voice.”

Again we waited what seemed like an eternity. Then Irene said, “Listen. Someone is laughing.”

We strained to hear and it sounded indeed like distant laughter, very far away.

“It’s Ceddy, having a good laugh at our expense,” Julian whispered.

“That’s not Ceddy’s laugh,” Adrian said.

“That’s Johnnie,” Charlotte said. “Don’t you remember how he loved to laugh, Irene?”

“Yes,” Irene whispered. “Johnnie loved to laugh.”

“Is that you, John?” Charlotte said. “Can you show yourself to us? Can you say something to your son?”

Again we waited but the laugh faded into silence. “It’s no use. He’s choosing not to speak to us,” Charlotte said. “I can feel he’s here. Maybe what he has to say to Jack is private and he doesn’t wish us to overhear.”

“We could try the Ouija board,” Virginia suggested. “Perhaps he is a voiceless spirit. They are sometimes.”

“We could,” Charlotte picked up the planchette. “Jack put your hand on this with me. And Irene. You are both Johnnie’s relatives. He’ll feel comfortable communicating with you.”

Jack gave me a questioning glance before placing his finger on the little disk..Slowly it started to move across the table. B…. U… G…. G… E… R.” We repeated the letters as the planchette went to them. “O…. F… F..”

“He said ‘bugger off’” Jack said delightedly.

“That definitely sounds like Johnnie,” Irene said. “Always was rude.”

“Anything else you’d like to say, John?” Charlotte asked. But the planchette did not move again” :Apparently not.”: She looked around the room. “Let us move along then. The problem of Marcel. Spirits from the other side we need your help. Tell us what will happen. Tell us what we should do to stop a stranger from taking over Kingsdowne.”

She looked at us as she pushed the Ouija board into the middle of the table. “Place one finger each on the planchette,” she said. We did as she commanded.

“We await you, oh spirits,” she said. Slowly the planchette began to move.

“D,” we said in unison.

It shot across the board. “E,” we chimed.

“A.”

Suddenly there was a great gust of wind. The curtains billowed out. The candle was blown out and we were plunged into darkness. Irene and Virginia rose to their feet with a cry of fright. I think the Starlings screamed as well. My own heart was hammering in my chest.

“Death,” Charlotte whispered. “It was going to spell out death.” view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. Lady Georgiana seems to have a privileged life. What are some ways in which her life is not so rosy?

2. This story centers around the heir to a great estate. Discuss that whole concept, plus other instances of property entailment disrupting lives in literature

3. Did you figure out the murder before it was revealed? Was it a surprise? Was it logical to you?

4. These Royal Spyness books are funny—gentle satire of English aristocracy. But there are always serious undertones. What are some in this book?

5. There are always quirky characters in Royal Spyness books. Who was your favorite?

Weblinks

»	Author Rhys Bowen's web site
»	Publisher's Book Info

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