Welcome to weekend writing warriors. Many fine authors, and me, contribute short snippets for your delectation.
Since it seems that our Regency spy romance is much more popular than our science fiction, this post introduces the sequel to The Art of Deception. Amanda’s reading was interrupted by a summons to attend on her mother. Amanda has just asked if she must attend the assembly.
Her mother echoed her, almost mocking her question, “Must we go to the assembly?”
“Yes; It’s only in Chipping Sodbury.”
Her mother took a deep breath and tried, once more, to explain, “Amanda, dearest; dearest Amanda … do you want to be an old maid, a burden on your brothers and an embarrassment for your sister?”
Amanda gazed over her mother’s shoulder, “No, not as such, but the company … In Chipping Sodbury of all places … it is vulgar.”
“Not half as vulgar as the hatters in Frampton,” Her mother paused, “Nor as vulgar as the iron master I married.”
“Don’t you love father?”
“I do, but he can be so … so annoyingly common.”
“Rich, wasn’t that enough?”
“For my father, yes; however, not for us; you should marry a gentleman.”
My sincere apologies for abusing semi-colons.
While she seems strict, Amanda’s mother has her head screwed on the right way. The alternatives to marriage for an unmarried woman, even a mathematically inclined one, were bleak.
To set the scene, this building in Lacock abbey is fairly typical of village buildings.
You’ve seen it – Lacock abbey is the background in many films – ranging from Pride and Prejudice to Harry Potter. The Red Lion pub (I don’t have a good picture of it but it’s in the centre in this picture) is a dead giveaway.
The Art of Deception, first in a series of late Georgian/early Regency spy novels is now up.. You can get the first part here.
Illegal aliens is up for order on Amazon. In the end, the way to fix my mistakes was to issue a new edition. I still used kindle create but in a more native way to produce a “reflowable” book.
You can get a copy of the first four chapters on instafreebie.
The photographs definitely add to my enjoyment of the snippet. Thanks!
Thank you. Something is telling me, echoing silently from hill to hill, down to down, “travel writing – you berk”
Oh…it makes me so glad I wasn’t born in that era. 🙂
I know. As long as you were healthy it was sort of OK (not as smelly and lice-ridden as we imagine). However, yuck is all I can say (and I have been on a Philmont trek so I don’t have a weak stomach)
Plenty of vulgarity to go around, apparently! Great scene.
thank you.
Great set up for future conflicts. (I peeked at the first snippet too, with her reading. I’d hardly call that an “exciting” book! Such a different time…)
Thank you. One of the hard parts of writing about the regency and its nearby eras is getting the differences across without being so foreign that no one understands.
sounds like a pickle she’s in.
To quote Wooser, Bertram. She’s in the soup.
Oh, yes. Mothers always want something better for their girls. Love and money aren’t everything.
There’s a bit of backstory that will emerge. Her mother was of genteel, even noble, birth but had a spendthrift wastrel of a father. She was, sort of, auctioned off to the highest bidder. Mr Bentley will claim to have won her in a card game.
Enjoyed the photos, and the snippet of course. I hope Amanda listens to her mother!
Thank you.
Love the pictures. They add so much to the story. Good snippet.
Thank you.