Celeste Jones Stops By to Discuss Lady Katherine’s Conundrum
Today I’m welcoming Celeste Jones to the blog to talk about her new release, Lady Katherine’s Conundrum.
Thank you so much for having me here today, Normandie. I’ve learned so much about the Regency era while writing my two (so far) Regency spanking stories that I’d like to share a bit of that information with your readers.
Hyde Park played an important part in Regency Era London. During The Season (usually from March until July) it was the place to see and be seen. Remember the scenes in American Graffiti where everyone drove their cars up and down the strip? It was sort of like that, but without engines or bobby socks.
The social hour in Hyde Park was from 5:00-6:00. Ladies might stroll arm in arm with their friends, all wearing their best dresses and showing off their newest hats. Single men might promenade as well, looking for an eligible lady. Lovers might also meet here for an assignation amongst the shrubbery.
In my latest book, Lady Katherine’s Conundrum, Hyde Park provides an important backdrop for a couple of key scenes. I’d like to share one with you here.
Excerpt
Lady Katherine Winchester admired herself in the tall looking glass in her bedchamber. The new hat and dress had arrived that morning and would be just the thing to wear for the afternoon in Hyde Park.
She joined her husband, wished that he might have had his boots polished, but said nothing, and the two of them traveled to Hyde Park to see and be seen by all the right people.
“You appear to be in especially high spirits today, my wife,” Thomas said, giving Katherine a meaningful look.
“I always enjoy the opportunity to wear new clothes.” She touched her hat to make sure it sat just right upon her elaborately styled hair.
“And you enjoy it even more if you can make the other ladies of the ton jealous of your newest acquisition.”
“Are you referring to my new husband or my new dress?”
“If either of us ‘acquired’ the other, it was me. I had to practically drag you to our wedding, as you will recall.”
“Or perhaps that is precisely what I wanted you to do.”
Thomas laughed, raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Your plan worked brilliantly, my dear.”
“Thomas! I have asked you not to do that in public.” She pulled her hand away, though not as quickly as she ought to have, and glanced about to determine if anyone had seen them.
When she did, a familiar figure walking alone into the shrubbery which surrounded a clearing often used for illicit rendezvous caught her attention. Or at least she had been told it was often used for such activities. Lady Katherine Winchester would not have any personal knowledge of such shenanigans.
She leaned forward and squinted into the setting sun, then smiled with satisfaction as she made out the features of the person in question. She felt sure of the identity of the woman behaving in such a secretive manner: Lady Lorena Arnold.
So, the rumors she had heard were true. A trill of joy coursed through her veins. Obviously she intended to meet up with a lover, though she was hardly stealthy in her endeavors. No wonder she had been the subject of so much gossip, she was practically flaunting her activity.
As the carriage passed the area where Lady Arnold had disappeared into the gardens, Katherine turned, gawked, and even went so far as to rise up from her seat in order to get a better view.
“If you do not wish for me to swat that lovely derriere, I would suggest you get it back onto the seat where it belongs.” Katherine sat. Thomas had no compunction about ‘setting her straight’ as he liked to call it, and was bold enough to do so in public, if he felt correction was necessary.
“What did you see that merited the risk of falling over and hurting yourself, and spoiling your new clothes?”
She knew that Thomas hated gossip, but if she reported what she had seen that was hardly gossip, it was a factual statement. Besides, it would be rude not to answer his question. “I just saw Lady Lorena Arnold on her way to an assignation.” She nearly burst with delighted triumph at the prospect. Not only did it confirm the rumors she had been told earlier in the week, but now she had her own story to add to the downfall of her foe.
Thomas casually turned to gaze toward the direction where she had been staring before. “I do not see anything.”
“That is how you know she is up to no good.” Katherine rolled her eyes. “If a perfectly innocent reason for whatever she is doing existed, she would not need to sneak into the shrubbery to do it.”
“How do you know she was sneaking? Maybe she has an interest in nature.”
“Ha!” Katherine scoffed. “I know Lorena, and believe me, she has no interest in nature unless it is to get the tail feathers of a pheasant to use for a hat. I tell you, she is engaging in improper behavior.”
“Good for her,” Thomas squeezed his wife’s hand. “Would you like to follow her example?” He gestured as though he intended to tell the driver to stop, but Katherine grabbed his arm and gave him her best stern expression.
“No, I would not like to follow her example. She is setting a poor standard for everyone and even you should know that,” Katherine huffed and turned to nod acknowledgement to Lady Bedford, who rode by with her husband in the Bedford family’s open carriage. It took all of Katherine’s will power and fortitude not to throw propriety to the wind and hop into their carriage to share with Lady Bedford what she had seen.
You can pick up your copy of Lady Katherine’s Conundrum here today:
Connect with Celeste Jones here:
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