May 10th, 1818
My Dearest Emily,
I cannot begin to tell you of the accusations and ferment roiling among the district families. I’m at my wit’s end, I truly am. My truest friend in the world, Victoria Covington, has gone missing. No warning nor suspicions were raised beforehand. I visited her on the morning of May 4th, though her uncle’s many house guests were everywhere. As mistress of Belton Park, she felt the demands keenly. Then, shortly after I bid her goodbye, she simply vanished. Disappeared. Gone.
No one saw her leave or spoke to her after I left. I cannot understand it. If she had a beau or planned to elope, she would have told me. Regardless, that is not possible as all her clothes were undisturbed.
Tory would never have left her beloved Park willingly, she loved it so. She must have been abducted, but who would do such a thing? All the guests were accounted for and because of the large number of guests out enjoying the spring weather, no one could have entered the house and left with her without being seen. And stranger still are the items which went missing with her.
I ask you to write to me of any strange doings you might hear of in Petworth and around the district. Any information may be of help. I have enclosed the newspaper notice with the details. I must go. I hear a search party returning to Belton Park, where I am at the moment attempting to help.
Your loving cousin,
Kitty.
| MISSING
Lord Reginald Covington has reported his niece missing to the District Magistrate at Horsham, Sussex. Miss Victoria Covington has not been seen since Monday last. Baron Covington and she were hosting a large house party at his estate, Belton Park, Sussex, near Petworth, with many notables attending. Miss Covington had been well received in London during her first Season last spring. Lord Covington is said to be distraught over her disappearance. The unusual circumstances surrounding the disappearance are numerous. Miss Covington went missing among a house full of guests, many enjoying the surrounding grounds at the time, but no one witnessed her departure. Guests reported seeing her enter the family music room with a new volume of poetry, which cannot be located. A family friend places her there before noon time. Also missing was a family heirloom, a Queen Anne love seat. However, her personal effects were not disturbed. She is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with blonde hair. When last seen she was wearing a blue morning dress. The Baron is offering a reward of £200 for any information concerning her whereabouts. Contact Sir Terrance Aperton, District Magistrate, Coarse Lane, Horsham with the particulars. |
Except from Touching Time:
Her smile turned to a frown. She used to enjoy the company of men, not avoid it, but since her coming out, the only interest they displayed was for her sizable dowry. Apparently, her oft-heralded beauty only made her more bankable.
“Oh, Kitty, my uncle, as kind as he is, also views me as income. The interest from my dowry is what keeps the Covington finances from a reckoning with the wolves. As he can’t touch my dowry or live without the interest, I have to receive a marriage offer from someone wealthy—very wealthy—if I am to obtain his blessing.” She gave a shrug at Kitty’s shocked expression. “Of course, he will negotiate the marriage settlement to make himself the trustee of any jointure I obtained.”
“I had no idea. It is beyond awful! What can you do?”
“I don’t know.” Neither her uncle nor her many admirers were interested in her, Miss Victoria Ann Covington. “Do you think there exists a man who could appreciate me for myself?”
Kitty sagely nodded at the question, but after a moment’s reflection said, “It is a shame, but I am quite certain men are hardly ever interested in women that way.”
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Victoria Covington is mysteriously propelled two hundred years into the future. She must not only learn to live in the 21st century, but also keep her beloved Belton Park from being sold to a handsome, but ungentlemanly American, who simply wants the estate to further his own business plans.
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