by Merry Farmer
“We have no money,” Phoebe said, just above a whisper. “Mama squandered it all on that trip to Ireland. This was the only option remaining to me.” She spread her arms across the counter.
“Oh. Well. I, um….” Natalia didn’t know what to say. Never in her life had she heard of one of her peers, a lady from a titled family, being forced to work as a shopgirl. It was unnerving. “We’ve, um, come to buy gloves?”
“Let me show you some of the latest styles that have come in from Paris,” Phoebe said, turning to fetch a box from the shelves behind her.
Natalia sent a quick glance to Lenore. Lenore seemed confused, so Natalia inched closer to her and said, “Lady Phoebe is a friend of mine. She and her mother have fallen on hard times.”
“A lady working in a shop?” Lenore whispered back. “Oh, my.”
Natalia hummed in agreement, but that was all she had time for before Phoebe turned back, setting a box of beautiful gloves on the counter. “You can try them on, if you’d like,” Phoebe said.
Natalia didn’t know what to do other than smile, try on gloves, and purchase as many as she felt she could, hoping Phoebe would be paid on commission. Lenore seemed to have the same thought and bought more gloves than she could possibly use in a single season.
As they two of them left the store half an hour later, Natalia’s heart was restless. “I feel as though I should help her in some way,” she said. “Part of me feels responsible for her plight.”
“I’m sure you’re not,” Lenore said, “but I share the sentiment.” She looped her arm through Natalia’s as they strode on. “Let’s make a pact. Between the two of us, and our friends, we’ll do whatever we can to help Lady Phoebe lift herself above her current circumstances.”
Natalia smiled at Lenore. “I’d like that. I know Phoebe could use all the help she could get.”
Linus wasn’t the only one who could use his talents to help those in dire need. By the time they reached the carriage that would take them home, Natalia’s heart had filled with determination. She wouldn’t stop until Phoebe was back to her rightful place in society again.
I hope you have enjoyed Linus and Natalia’s story! It was so much fun to write and even more fun to research. I actually based Linus’s father’s cult on a real cult that made a splash in Victorian England, the Agapemonite messianic movement. If you think that religious cults based on a charismatic leader with a strong (and icky) sexual element were a thing of the twentieth century, well, surprise! They were around in Victorian England too. The Agapemonite movement was started by one Henry Prince, a failed physician. He lured wealthy, unmarried women into his spiritual community, making them his “spiritual brides”, much to the distress of their families. Not only did he bilk them out of their fortunes, but quite a few illegitimate children were born from Prince’s “spiritual marriages” as well. And that was the inspiration for Linus’s scandalous past! No wonder he just wanted to lead a normal life.
But what about poor Lady Phoebe? She’s strong enough to do what is necessary to support herself and her mother by taking a job as a shopkeeper, but is she strong enough to resist the attentions of pub owner (and real estate developer) Danny Long? Can the daughter of a marquess and a coarse, hard-talking, unapologetic bounder fall in love? You’ll find out soon in The Road to Scandal is Paved with Wicked Intentions.
And if you’re still wondering about American heiress Lenore Garrett and her search for an actual husband (because we all know that her arrangement with Freddy Herrington is a ruse), that story is coming too. Perhaps the enigmatic Mr. Phineas Mercer has something to offer her. Or perhaps he has a secret that is so big and so scandalous it could bring the both of them down. You’ll get to find out all about it in Scandal Meets its Match this fall!
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About the Author
I hope you have enjoyed When Lady Innocent Met Dr. Scandalous. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cbaVMH And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it! For a complete list of works by Merry Farmer with links, please visit http://wp.me/P5ttjb-14F.
Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her cats, Torpedo, her grumpy old man, and Justine, her hyperactive new baby. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have reached the Top 100 at Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble, and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.
Acknowledgments
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my awesome beta-readers, Caroline Lee and Jolene Stewart, for their suggestions and advice. And double thanks to Julie Tague, for being a truly excellent editor and assistant!
Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.
