A man with a plan to acquire a merry housekeeper for Christmas! Romcom romp in MERRY BELLES!

His Merry Housekeeper 

A novelette in Delightful Doings in Dudley Crescent series

By Cerise DeLand

Word among the fashionable is that in that marvelous London crescent, Dudley to be exact, a new storm brews over the romantic interests of the lords and ladies who live there.

Lord Bettington in Number 42 is in need of a new housekeeper. It being Christmas and his house full of his three raucous motherless sons, he is in need of someone bold who can tamp down the chaos of his household—and his boys. 

But the earl wants so much more. He has ordered his young chatelaine, Miss Winifred Mathers, up from his country estate to serve as his housekeeper. Could it be true that that particular servant who is the only daughter of a termagant barrister has pierced dashing Lord Bettington’s lonely heart?

He tells himself he wants his new servant to provide order and emotional succor for his poor (savage) little boys. 

But can he control his yearning for his new employee?

And can Winn suppress her desire for the only man she's ever loved?

BUY LINK for MERRY BELLES, a box set by the Bluestocking Belles: https://www.amazon.com/Merry-Belles-Bluestocking-Collection-Friends-ebook/dp/B0FTQVYSKG

Be sure to read the current three novels about those who live in Dudley Crescent: 

Her Beguiling Butler: https://books2read.com/u/bpjNZ6

His Tempting Governess: https://books2read.com/u/4jenz2

His Naughty Maid: https://books2read.com/u/3npn9B

Napoleon's ladies! How many do you know?

An early portrait of
Josephine de Beauharnais

The man had a large family of brothers and sisters. His greatest regret was that his first wife, Josephine, could not give him an heir. She, too, regretted her inability to conceive, though she tried many remedies and spas.

Portrait artists of the period—famous Le Brun and Jacques Louis David—painted many of them.

Who was loveliest?

Who was most notorious?

Today, we have a selection of those ladies who influenced Court, banking, fashion—and scandal! 

Oh, you tell us what you think.  

Here are your selections.

Desiree Clary, Queen of Sweden

Napoleon's mother, Madame Mere

Sister Pauline Bonaparte

Caroline Bonaparte, sister

Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine

Madame Julie Recamier, wife of a banker, 
Society darling

Empress Marie Louise with her son, Napoleon II,
King of Rome

Want to visit Malmaison? Paris? Josephine's court?

In my new series, SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I give you the excitement of falling in love during the tumultuous time when Europe was awash in revolutions and the rise of one unknown man to power shook the Continent and the foundations of every other country.

Sweeping you from London to Paris, I am tickled to take you to Malmaison and the problems of navigating Josephine and Bonaparte’s court. The intrigues of spies, ambassadors, merchants, military men and the women who loved and aided them create a canvas of actual events that shaped the fate of millions. 

Over the years of Bonaparte’s rise and reign, espionage agents of all nationalities tried to stop him. Many failed. Like the attempt in LORD ASHLEY’S BEAUTIFUL ABLIBI to abduct Bonaparte in June 1800. A few succeeded easily, like the attempt of the British government to plant agents throughout the Continent during the peace of the Treaty of Amiens. 

Some of these events were documented, like the abduction of the duc d’Engien. Others still remain mysteries, such as the identity of the mysterious English woman who for decades sent thousands of coded secrets home to London. And the lady who stole documents from Talleyrand in Vienna during the Congress of 1814.

In SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I take you to those cities and towns that live in our history books—and palaces and streets I have walked. They are places that exude their own charm—and hold for the people of that time secrets and challenges for agents of all countries. 

You will go to the tunnels beneath Compiègne and to the palace where Napoleon met his second wife and within minutes escorted her to their bedroom. You will go to Reims, where kings were crowned, and enter the caverns of St. Denis in Paris where they were buried. You will go to the church in Varennes where gendarmes captured Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and sent to Paris to die. You will go to Baden where a greedy German margrave sold out his subjects to Bonaparte for land and money. You will track Bonaparte and his aide Caulaincourt as they race away from Moscow and are tracked by agents all the way to Paris.

 

I will also take you to other seemingly insignificant places that really existed. A public bath house, the smelly abattoir of Montmartre, then south to the huge fortress of Amboise and the vineyards of the Loire. To Verdun where the citadel becomes the prison for hundreds of British trapped inside France by the wily new emperor.

A panoply of stories, the series will be a rich discovery of the challenges of fighting an enemy while falllng in love with one irresistible person. I hope you enjoy them all, from this first search for a missing friend, to the action-adventure of saving an entire family from death, to the rewards of stealing Bonaparte’s gold and more. Through each story, one man and woman will try to save the world from a despot—and save each other and the love they treasure above all else.

How big is your dowry? Can we afford to get married?

🍒TALES FROM MY RESEARCH and TRAVELS WITH CERISE!

Dowries! How big could they be? How small?

As large as a father’s generosity and prosperity or as tiny, a bride’s dowry was a moveable feast. A few, such as that of the daughter of the Duke of Marlborough (c. 1719), could be as large as 6,000 pounds with a yearly jointure of 800 pounds. This plus property could signal quite an alliance that kept control of large swaths of land in the extended family.

A tiny dowry could mean the difference between life and death, providing food and clothing for an impoverished couple—and little for a daughter of that union.

Usually a father paid for the wedding, the party or breakfast if any, and the trousseau, if any. Wealthy fathers often gave their daughters ample new wardrobes and accoutrements for their new home. Less prosperous fathers gave little or nothing. 

But the settlement of money and any other items such as land was negotiated by the bride’s father with the groom’s and perhaps the groom, himself.

After the wedding, the (hopefully happy) couple were to take a few days or weeks in a honeymoon. Afterward, they were to return and call upon certain others in town or in their social sphere.

So much of weddings then are so similar to ours now!

Here, the drawing of Princess Charlotte's wedding to the Prince Leopold of Belgium (1816) and her actual wedding gown!

What to wear for mourning a king? George III dies in Jan. 1820!

When George III died January 29, 1820 in Windsor Castle, the Court sent out official orders two days later for members of the Court (his family, relatives, attendants et al.) and parts of the official government. This was "to begin upon Thursday, the 3rd day of February instant." 

Initially, everyone in the United Kingdom was to wear black. The mourning period, usually a full year after anyone's death, was extended in many finite ways after the death of a monarch.

In these two excerpts from a newspaper published days after his death, we see that clothing was specifically addressed. (Do enlarge the photos here so you can them.)

But I excerpt this for you:

"Ladies were to wear black bombazine, plain muslin or long lawn linens, crape hoods, shammy shoes and gloves and crape fans.

"Undress—Dark Norwich crape.

"The Gentlemen to wear back cloth, without buttons on the sleeves and pockets, plain muslin or long lawn cravats and weeps. shammy shoes, and gloves, crape headbands, and black swords and buckles.

"Undress—Dark grey frocks."

Specific instructions were issued by the Lord Chamberlain for:

Horse Guards: "...black crape over the ornamental part of the cap, the sword knot, and on the left arm. Officers on duty are to wear black gloves, black crape over the ornamental part of the cap...the sash covered in black crape, black gorget ribbon, and black crape scarf over the right shoulder.

The drums are to be covered with black...

BUY LINK

Admiralty Office: "...black crape on their left arms, hats, and scrod-knots...except at Court, when they are also to wear black waistcoats, breeches, stockings and buckles...

In addition, theaters were closed. Many shops closed too.

For three months, the Court held no public affairs. Balls and many social events were cancelled. The new King George IV, though not yet crowned, did not attend social functions. 

Gradations of mourning in terms of events one might hold or attend were normal. Three months, six months and then one year were the usual periods of mourning. Changes in the color and types of clothing changed with the periods.

Mourning for old King George III was particularly difficult for the Court and for all in the country because six days before one of his sons, the Duke of Kent who was Princess Victoria's father, had died of pneumonia.  He was buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, February 12, 1820. For days later, February 16, 1820 was the day that George III was buried in the same chapel. 

Not until one year and half later is George III's son, the Prince Regent, crowned King George  IV.

In HIS NAUGHTY MAID, my heroine goes to the public celebrations for Coronation of George IV July 21, 1821. That official day-long event, long after mourning was ended for the previous monarch, was a lavish affair with week-long celebrations. It also cost the equivalent of MILLIONS of  British pounds!

You need to come with me to English country houses and French chateaux! Now!

We'll dine in this famous Frenchman's
lavish dining room and I'll tell you
how he angered Louis XIV!

Come with me to England and France as I show and tell you (live and on chat) about my research for my novels!

I've toured so many country houses, chateaux and palaces—and you should see them all! Do visit my Facebook author page for recent posts,  (text and video chat!) and go to TEATIME WITH  CERISE AND SUSANA.

TEATIME occurs every Wednesday at 5 EST  on Facebook when my cohost, author Susana Ellis, and I pour tea, talk about your favorite romances and invite one special author guest for you to meet!

Here I am near the huge roasting oven  inside the Old Kitchen (as they dub it) at Kenwood House, England!

I'll tell you where this library door leads!
(Ham House, England)

I'll tell you how I used this building in Montmartre in DARING WIDOW!

I'll tell you how I went to the Opera Garnier
and how I took my characters to the opera one evening!

I'll tell you how I weave  my research into this series!

I'll show you Montmartre
from artists' points of view!

I'll show you how American Heiresses and their wealthy papas
bought titles, happiness and sometimes sorrow for themselves.

My own picture of Sacre Coeur
one rainy Paris night!
A favorite pix of mine!

Climb aboard!
TEATIME every Wednesday at 5 EST!

Full cover of my newest in THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS, debuts March 2018!