Home of the Bluestocking Belles

Fenwick on Sea, or Fenwick on Scandal?

On September 5, 2026

Dearest Readers,

We have more news from our correspondent in that remote seaside village, Fenwick on Sea. You’ll recall last spring when a storm devastated the area, stranding a large number of respected and not so respectable people in this tiny village. Our reporter, braved that storm and the hazards resulting from it to bring you important news of smugglers, pirates, and scandal.

It seems that Fenwick on Sea is once again making headlines. First, we had news of a magical well. Supposedly anyone drinking the waters from this well will find his or her true love. Then a certain Lady B. (a relative of Lord Shermer) disappears from town and is seen in Fenwick on Sea. After which, she returns to town engaged to Mr. Charles Robinson. Did the lady and the gentleman drink the well’s waters?

Next the illustrious and rather wealthy heiress, Miss Arianna Westbrook visits Fenwick. Her mother says to escape the attentions of fortune hunters. What happens to Miss Westbrook? She ends up married to one Thomas Medlock, owner of a salvage company. A Salvage Company? Can you imagine how low the high have fallen when a noble heiress weds a tradesman. One might almost believe the rumor swirling about the well water of Fenwick.

And NOW! Now, we learn that intrepid half-pay Captain C., a hero of the French wars, stopped in this notorious village while investigating suspected profiteers. Men who, during the wars, profited from selling British Army weapons and supplies to the enemy. Our brave Captain C. not only finds the party guilty of profiteering, but also breaks up a smuggling ring, and finds a bride. Is the well at work again?

Perhaps we should have our brave reporter drink the waters as a test? What do you think?

We will keep you all informed of the very interesting events happening in this obscure little village.

With Warm Regards,

Samuel Clemens, Editor in Chief

About What the Heart Knows, Forevers in Fenwick Book Four

A retired army captain investigates a series of crimes that lead directly to the door of a woman he loves. Will fate force him to choose between honor and love?

Home from the wars, Captain Christian Copefort arrives in Fenwick to investigate the local squire on suspicion of smuggling and profiteering. Kit vows to find proof of the gentleman’s shady dealing. Then Kit meets the squire’s lovely daughter. Is she complicit in her father’s criminal activities? What a pity, if she is, for she is the one woman Kit believes he could love.

The allure of Captain Copefort baffles Miss Margaret Fenneman. Modest for a man whose exploits on battlefields are widely known, Kit Copefort is neither bellicose nor conceited. Only charming. Yet, he holds her father in contempt. How can she be attracted to a man who opposes to everything she believes right? She refuses to show any disloyalty to her father. But Kit…and fate may force her to choose.

B2RUBL https://books2read.com/u/3GBZaL

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/What-Heart-Knows-Forevers-Fenwick-ebook/dp/B0H8B861S8

About Forevers in Fenwick, A Continuing Series from the Bluestocking Belles.

Ah, Fenwick on Sea! A humble village, somewhat forgotten by time. But not for long if the innkeeper has his way! Rumor of a fae blessing upon his inn is exactly what he needs to draw crowds back to the neglected village. Of course, it’s only talk. Or is it?

Series Buy Link–https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H27Z3MTK

Have you heard about the American girl who escaped from Paris prison and lived with a man for months and they were not married?

By Cerise DeLand

On August 29, 2026

In Teatime Tattler

I tell you, I ran into Zephora Butler the other day in a tea shop. She looked marvelous. How does one do that if one has been in one of those horrid little prisons in Paris? I hear she was starvd and all her hair was gone. I say, how does one ever survive?

But she escaped, you know.

Yes, she did.

A French man defended her in prison. (I wonder what they did in that cell, don’t you?)

Some say she went to school with Caroline Bonaparte and Hortense Beauharnais. Imagine that. Do you think it true?

But then I also heard through the grapevine that it was our notorious Rafe Durham who crossed the Channel, invaded that prison, then carried her out of that filthy place and took her away. Then for months in France, they lived together!

Can you imagine?

They did! In a tiny French village. Before they could find a discreet smuggler to carry them home to England.

Durham nursed her back to health. But I do wonder what else they did.

Don’t you?

Now, I hear that the other day, she went to see Nathan Rothschild with Durham. She did!

And I can hardly believe it, but she has inherited from her American father millions of Great British Pounds.

Can you believe that?

What will she do with that? Every bachelor from here to Aberdeen will be at her door. What will Rafe Durham do to protect her from that?

***

Sir Durham’s Disarming Asset by Cerise DeLand is the 7th in the scintillating romantic suspense series, SCARLETT AFFAIRS.

When Rafe Durham rescued a young lady from prison, he planned to nurse her back to health. Not discover she is the very air he breathes.

And when she makes it clear to him that she loves him, how can he deny he adores her?

But when he does, what does he expect her to do?

Walk away?

RELEASING 9/17/2026

BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCRXDL2S

Cerise DeLand is the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR who writes breat-taking romances set in years gone by!

Find her here:

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Website – http://cerisedeland.com

Bride Disappears into a Snowstorm!

By Alina K. Field

On August 26, 2026

In Teatime Tattler

Dear Readers:

Whispers from Cumberland inform the Tattler that the long-delayed Christmas wedding between the Duke of Kendal and industrialist’s daughter Miss Penelope Montgomery has been delayed once more by the bride’s disappearance into a snowstorm. Captain Lord Hugo Dalston, the bridegroom’s brother, went in hot pursuit of the runaway, but neither has returned to Gaitskill Castle. Have they perished, or is a more scandalous possibility in the offing?

Snowed In with the Runaway Bride

by Alexa Santi

Betrothed to the Duke of Kendal since they were children and still recovering from a near-fatal illness, Miss Penelope Montgomery is resigned to the marriage … until she discovers her twin sister Pippa has been in love with Kendal for years. The only way to prevent disaster is for Penny to flee her Christmas wedding ahead of an incoming snowstorm that strands her at a tiny inn with her jilted groom’s irritatingly attractive brother Hugo.

Royal Navy Captain Lord Hugo Dalston wanted to escape the spectacle of the woman he loves marrying his older brother, but Penny’s impulsive actions force them to share the smallest room he’s ever seen in an isolated village where everyone believes them to be husband and wife. Even worse, the masquerade is dangerously seductive, showing Hugo what his life with Penny can be if he has the courage to risk his family, his livelihood, and even Penny’s health should her illness return.

Part of the Regency Runaway Brides Series

Buy Link:

https://Books2Read.com/SnowedInRunawayBride

Excerpt:

The closer her family’s traveling coach came to her wedding, the more Penelope Montgomery wished she could turn tail and run.

Her mother’s continuous burbles about the romance of Christmas weddings, as though this had not all been arranged when Penny was a mere child, made her want to scream.

A scream would echo oddly in the coach, likely muffled by the thick curtains that covered the windows and warm blankets that covered Penny, her mother, and Penny’s identical twin sister, Pippa.

Penny looked over at her sister, who had finally awakened after sleeping like the dead all the way from their last change of horses. Pippa lifted the curtain to look out the carriage window with a frown. Mother followed Penny’s gaze.

“Stop that, Pippa. You’re letting in a draft. Your sister will freeze.”

“Sorry, Mother,” Pippa said, without dropping the curtain. “I do believe it will snow.”

“It would be lovely to have snow for Christmas!” Mother gushed. Then she frowned. “But not until all of the guests have arrived. It would be dreadful to have everyone trapped on the road. Your father is still on his way from whatever that business was that sent him to Manchester.”

“If Papa is late, we could postpone the wedding,” Penny said, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

Mother glared at her. “Bridal jitters are all very well, my dear, but it’s a bit late now. You shall be married in three days’ time.” She sighed. “A Christmas Eve wedding. So romantic.”

The rumble of the carriage wheels and clatter of the horses’ hooves picked up the rhythm of Mother’s words.

Three days’ time… three days’ time…

Penny had only three more days to escape her fate.

As the coach rounded the drive, she lifted the curtain on her own side of the carriage despite Mother’s fussing about the cold. That same cold seeped into Penny’s already aching bones as she regarded the gray stone walls that rose starkly against the winter-brown countryside.

In three days’ time, this would be her home. Away from her family. Away from her sister. Alone with a man who still felt like a virtual stranger even though they had known each other since they were children.

Barring one half-hearted attempt the previous year, he had never even so much as kissed her.

Not that she particularly wanted him to.

The carriage drew to a halt and the Duke of Kendal emerged from the front door, closely followed by a bevy of footmen. Carefully, Penny unfolded her limbs from the carriage seat. The painful swelling of her joints that had plagued her all through her recovery from the fever that had nearly killed her was becoming less frequent, but the cold, damp weather had made it flare up again. Combined with the rigors of travel, her aching joints wanted nothing more than a warm bed and perhaps some bitter but soothing willow bark tea.

But that could not be allowed, of course. She was the future Duchess of Kendal. The rituals must be adhered to. She must greet the servants, and then attend the reception with the whole family, and then dress for dinner, and then, and then, and then…

Penny shook out her skirts and pasted a smile on her face as the carriage door opened and a footman lowered the steps. Her gloved hand crept into the pocket of her pelisse to make certain the tiny wooden swallow was still there. Her good luck charm.

Before Penny could get to her feet, Mother all but leaped for the open door, startling the waiting footman, and made a precipitous descent, chattering all the way down. Taking a deep breath, Penny put weight on her sore joints and stood, her head stooped to avoid catching her traveling bonnet on the roof of the coach.

As she descended from the carriage, Penny looked beyond Kendal to see a familiar figure standing just inside the door, and her heart made a little leap even as her step faltered.

Hugo had come after all.

It had been uncertain whether Kendal’s younger brother would be able to get away from London, or so Kendal had written her. With Napoleon safely stashed away on St. Helena, Hugo had won his first official command as a post-captain after competing with most of the other captains of His Majesty’s Royal Navy. The Navy’s reduction in forces following the Allied victory at Waterloo had left many captains scrambling to find berths, which made Hugo’s accomplishment even more impressive.

Once he had left to be a midshipman, Penny had only seen Hugo once a year, or every few years, depending on his assignment, always with a new tale of derring-do at sea for his younger cousins… and for Penny to eavesdrop on, if she happened to be nearby.

She had always tried to be nearby.

But now the war was over, and he was here.

Penny busied herself with straightening her skirts once her feet were firmly on the ground, her heart pounding. The thought of marrying Kendal was already dreadful, but to have to do it with Hugo watching would be unbearable. He was always… judging her and her frivolous ways. Lurking in corners, frowning at her. Her skin prickled with heat every time she caught him looking at her with those disapproving brown eyes. He had only ever made one gesture that made her wonder if she was wrong about him.

Her hand strayed to where the tiny hand-carved swallow rested in her pocket before she tossed her head and straightened her bonnet. She didn’t care what Captain Lord Hugo Dalston thought of her. Not in the slightest.

Instead, she smiled at Kendal.

About the Author:

Alexa Santi loves storytelling of all kinds, so it’s no wonder it took some time for her to settle on writing romance novels after several career detours, including an MFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. She lives near Los Angeles with her handsome archivist husband and their pesky cats, who insist she take frequent breaks from her writing to pay attention to them. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, or on her website at https://www.alexasanti.com

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A French Adventuress in Cheshire

By Alina K. Field

On August 22, 2026

In Teatime Tattler

Dear Readers,

What an interesting harvest season the residents of Cheshire are having. This report comes from a resident of a small village which shall be left unnamed.

My Dear Mr. Clemens,

It has been some time since my last letter, but so it has been with the goings on in Belgium that one has no chance but to read whatever report one can find and otherwise worry.

Now we have come through that, and our people of R have both mourned the loss of some brave young men and celebrated the return of many as well as this year’s good harvest.

And what goings-on there have been before, during, and after our harvest fete!

In particular, we have seen the return to the village of a young Frenchwoman (one might call her an adventuress!) and the lady who employed her as a companion. They were both offered shelter by a friend of the younger woman, one of our most genteel widowed ladies. Such a fuss, with the Frenchwoman here in R openly seeking a wealthy husband, her employer bedazzling one of our elderly local worthies, and the widowed lady praying that her posthumous child (yes, she was in the family way at the time of her husband’s death) is a boy—else she and her daughters will be homeless!

There is more. A handsome young officer has returned from the army with a Frenchman in tow meant to marry the fortune-hunting young Frenchwoman, she who wants nothing to do with anything French. It is whispered that she is the heiress of a French vintner!

What is the truth? I will write again when I know more.

Under the Champagne Moon

Orphaned by the French Revolution and rescued by a British family, Fleur Hardouin didn’t—or wouldn’t—speak, until the jolly young Gareth Ardleigh crossed her path one summer and saved her from bullies. Fifteen years later, Fleur and the beloved lady she serves return to Cheshire. Determined to rescue them both through an advantageous marriage, Fleur tries to brush off the attention she receives from Gareth, who’s home from the wars and as handsome as ever. Her heart longs for him, but her head knows he can’t provide the security she needs.

Gareth’s excuse for visiting Cheshire is to deliver the personal effects of his best friend who perished at Quatre Bras. But his real purpose is finding the little French girl he met years ago, for marriage—not to him, but to the Frenchman who helped save his life. Astonished to find that Fleur has grown into a beautiful—and still intriguing—young woman, it soon becomes clear, he must choose between honoring a promise or trying to win the hand of the woman he loves.

Originally published in Under the Harvest Moon, a Bluestocking Belles with Friends Collection

Buy Links: https://books2read.com/underthechampagnemoon

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature but prefers the much happier world of romance fiction. Her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., but after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California. Now widowed, and with the kids grown, she recently transplanted from Orange County to a desert community. The nest is empty except for a sweet, feisty chihuahua and grandkids who frequently need looking after and visit often

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A Stolen Heart in London?

By Aileen Fish

On August 15, 2026

In Teatime Tattler

Dearest Readers,
It would appear we’ve stumbled upon an interesting tidbit regarding a friend of a young lady mentioned once in our paper not too long ago. She’s the daughter of the Earl of G and an alumna of Lady Helford’s School for Recalcitrant Girls in Greymoor Wharf, as was her friend, Lady B.

The rumors we’ve heard are connected indirectly to the reasons for Lady M being sent to such a place of discipline. We’ll not comment on the accusations being made ~ honestly, what young lady raised in a noble family would ever have the need to resort to thievery?

Additional rumors have connected Lady M with a certain viscount, Lord H. Have you ever imagined a more eccentric pair than these two? Perhaps those eccentricities will be the glue that binds their hearts into a marriage to last a lifetime.

Stranger things have happened.

Excerpt from Stealing the Viscount’s Heart:

Lady Martha drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, hugging herself tightly. Of all the men she had ever met, Lord Haworth was perhaps the only one she could imagine growing to love in the slow, measured way she imagined love was meant to happen. Not the gasping, reckless infatuations the girls at school had rhapsodized about, but the sort of affection that began with admiration and grew, season by season, into something like loyalty. She had always suspected she was built more for loyalty than for passion.

Which, if she were honest, wasn’t what books had led her to expect from romance. Her mother had hinted at it once, a memory so small Martha had nearly missed it at the time. Love, real love, was not a thunderclap. It was a tide, relentless and quiet, that changes everything in time.

She had nodded then, trying to look wise, and thought, but I should like at least one thunderclap.

If this was a thunderclap, it was a curiously gentle one. The world hadn’t split open, only turned a new angle toward the light. Even her own name felt newly minted.

She let herself imagine what it would mean to marry him. She played it out, as she sometimes did in idle moments with less promising prospects, but this time with an attention to detail allowed by having a real suitor.

Where was his country house? She assumed he had one, though they would be in London while Parliament was in session. Martha imagined the chaos of all her books, and Bran and, eventually, children. She imagined herself at the breakfast table reading a book, with Nicholas in his shirtsleeves arguing about whether toast ought to be cut before or after the butter was applied. The children would, she decided, be brown-haired like her, obstinate, and deeply loyal to their own opinions. Although, one son should have black hair like his father.

She smiled at the ridiculous picture.

Of course, there would be difficulties. There always were. His mother would dislike her, perhaps for a year, perhaps forever. The ton would talk, and so would the servants, and her father would find some new way to embarrass her at every dinner party.

But she could see a life with him, and the thought didn’t frighten her.

That was, she realized, the difference.

Find Stealing the Viscount’s Heart at:

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About the Author

USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Fish is an avid quilter and auto racing fan who finds there aren’t enough hours in a day/week/lifetime to stay up with her “to-do” list. There is always another quilt or story begging to steal away attention from the others. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys spending time with her two daughters and their families.

She also writes steamy romance under the pen name Ari Thatcher.

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