The Art of Deception 7 #wewriwar #amwriting
or Pride and Extreme Prejudice
Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. This week I continue another book, that will eventually come out via booktrope. It’s a spy story set in late Georgian England, the year before Trafalgar. Last week I returned to Alice’s story. Her Uncle Grey has found her tutor, a Madame Rene. He has a few questions for her, about Alice. What started out as a friendly reunion becomes a tad tense. It continues so in this snippet.
The piano music, that had been playing in the background stopped, and Alice walked out of the door, down the hall, and over to them, “Uncle, do you know Madame Renne?”
Madame Renne said, “We’ve met.”
“Oh,” Alice tried to keep her curiosity from her voice.
Answering Lord Grey’s question, Madame Renne continued, “Son français, il est bon aussi longtemps qu’elle prétend être de la Normandie.”
“Why would I have to pretend to be from Normandy?”
Her uncle answered, “Alice, my dear, you still have a touch of an English accent; the Parisians would know in a trice. Shouldn’t be surprised, I’ve had to do the same; anyway, niece, I thought I should escort you home.”
“You have, when?”
“It’s a long story, maybe I’ll tell you some evening.”
Madame Renne looked sharply at ‘Monsieur LeBlanc’, and then at her student; “Miss Alice,” she said, “This man, he is not to be trusted.”
Please see the other talented writers in Weekend Writing Warriors.
Lord Grey’s offer to Alice isn’t quite what it seems.
The cartoon is another famous one by James Gillray. It shows his take on the ‘Ton’ – the high society of the time. It got him into more than a little tiny bit of hot water as the powerful people he caricatured were in the words Queen Victoria never uttered “Not Amused.” The plump man who needs a shave near the middle is Mr Fox, leader of the opposition, his wife is next to him with a picture of Napoleon on her fan, the Prince (not yet the Regent) is at the far right and cut in half, the tall man is Lord Spencer, the Duke of Buckingham is wearing a blue sash and bending over, his brother Temple is behind him, and the two curmudgeons enjoying a brew are the Dukes of Bedford and Norfolk. (And yes I had to look this up.)
I’ve also released a sweet regency romance, Miss DeVere This is a fun read, and unlike “The curious profession of dr craven” seems to not carry a curse.
Frankenkitty is available.
What happens when teenagers get to play with Dr Frankenstien’s lab notebooks, a few odd chemicals and a great big whopping coil? Mayhem, and possibly an invitation to the Transylvanian Neuroscience Summer School.
Get Free Stuff and try out my landing page. There are three free complete short stories (including an ARC for Frankenkitty) available after you’ve gone through the hoops.
