The Matter of the Secret Bride

Darcie Wilde

• Publisher: Kensington Books
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781496750631
• eBook ISBN:
  9781496750655
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Crime & Mystery Literature
• Index: Literature

Set in Regency London, this charming Jane Austen-inspired mystery series features Rosalind Thorne, a resourceful young woman with a talent for helping ladies of the ton with their most delicate and pressing predicaments. But now she’s faced with a task of royal proportions. Literally.

KingGeorge IV is petitioning Parliament for a divorce from his queen on the grounds of her adultery. But rumor has it that the king secretly married Maria Fitzherbert—long before he married the queen. Now Mrs. Fitzherbert has been robbed—and she’s frantically calling on Rosalind for help.

Because what those thieves took is proof that she and King George did really marry. That single piece of paper could destroy Mrs. Fitzherbert and her family—or it could prove the king guilty of bigamy.

Rosalind races to investigate. With her is ex-Bow Street officer, Adam Harkness, with whom Rosalind shares a complex and rapidly intensifying bond. But a case of theft soon turns to murder . . .

Josiah Poole, a disreputable attorney specializing in helping debtors—and who was seen entering Mrs. Fitzherbert’s house—is found brutally murdered. Mrs. Fitzherbert has debts. Could she have staged the theft, and employed Mr. Poole to sell the marriage certificate? Or is the truth even more complicated? Mrs. Fitzherbert’s daughters have secrets of their own. And Poole himself had no shortage of enemies.

With suspicious coincidences mounting, and more danger encroaching, Rosalind and Adam must move quickly to unravel a history-making mystery that might just lead them straight to the palace itself . . .
 

Table of contents

• Also by
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright Page
• PROLOGUE - An Initial Meeting
• CHAPTER ONE - An Unexpected Summons
• CHAPTER TWO - The Most Scandalous Woman in London
• CHAPTER THREE - A Mere Slip of Paper
• CHAPTER FOUR - The Scene of the Crime
• CHAPTER FIVE - On Watch
• CHAPTER SIX - Only What Was Seen
• CHAPTER SEVEN - Merest Speculation
• CHAPTER EIGHT - Greeted by the London Mob
• CHAPTER NINE - Events Set in Motion
• CHAPTER TEN - The Diligent Men of Bow Street
• CHAPTER ELEVEN - In the Clear Light of Day
• CHAPTER TWELVE - A New Situation
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Lady Jersey’s Opinion
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN - A Gentleman of the Press
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN - The Consequences of Notoriety
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN - The Sponging House
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - A Few Domestic Matters
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Unexpected Arrivals
• CHAPTER NINETEEN - A Series of Abrupt Departures
• CHAPTER TWENTY - Mrs. Levitton
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - The White Swan
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - The Gentle Art of Discovery
• CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - In Service
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - The Dead Man
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - Hearth and Home
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - The Chambermaid’s View
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - The Principal Officer
• CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - The Consolations of Friendship
• CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - Questions at the White Swan
• CHAPTER THIRTY - The Chief Clerk
• CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - The Small Secrets of Delicate Young Ladies
• CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO - Company for Breakfast
• CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - A Few Pointed Questions
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - A Straightforward Plan
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE - Comings and Goings
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX - A Formidable Woman
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN - Household Business
• CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - A Purely Social Visit
• CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE - A Return To Old Haunts
• CHAPTER FORTY - A Life in Letters
• CHAPTER FORTY-ONE - A House of Mourning
• CHAPTER FORTY-TWO - A Daughter’s Troubles
• CHAPTER FORTY-THREE - A Quiet Stroll and Many Questions
• CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR - A Disruption at the Dinner Hour
• CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE - A Slender Thread
• CHAPTER FORTY-SIX - Captain Dawson
• CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN - At Home to Callers
• CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT - By Persons Unknown
• CHAPTER FORTY-NINE - In the Queen’s Defense
• CHAPTER FIFTY - In a State of Collapse
• CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE - Two Lies and a Truth
• CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO - Capitulation
• CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE - Checkmate
• CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR - And Yet
• CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE - An Affair of the Heart
• CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX - Captain Dawson’s Admission
• CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN - The Means to an End
• CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT - Like Wildfire
• CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE - The Ties That Bind
• EPILOGUE - That Ends Well
• AUTHOR’S NOTE
• TEASER