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A Meddlesome New Resident Stirs Mischief

By

On December 17, 2025

In Teatime Tattler

Dear Reader,

We continue our reporting of last week about goings-on in the country.

Dear Mr. Clemens,

A newcomer to our dear town of Horsham may prove to be the death of one of our residents. A Miss M, come to live with her widowed aunt, has seen fit to harass a certain gentleman living deservedly retired after earning a grievous wound during his honorable and brave service to His Majesty the King on the Peninsula.
Not only has this impertinent miss allowed her dog to attack poor Mr. F, but she has assailed him in his own library to reprimand him for his housekeeping (or lack thereof). He sent her to the rightabout, to be sure, but with such ill-breeding, one suspects that is not the end of it with Miss M.
While every self-respecting house-mistress in Horsham might agree that Mr. F’s expectations of his housekeeper leave much to be desired, none could blame him for losing all hope after a certain Miss W jilted him so cruelly. But if our meddlesome new resident means to continue her interference, poor Mr. F’s peace is likely to be broken up forever!
 

Hearts in Bloom: A Regency Anthology

by Judith Hale Everett, Rosanne E. Lortz, GL Robinson, K. Lyn Smith, Caroline Warfield
A spring anthology brimming with all the hope, heartache, and thrill of first love. Mysterious admirers, magical talismans, spirited matchmakers, and a bit of creative persistence overcome the obstacles to true love, no matter how daunting!
 

Story Featured: Susannah Tells the Truth, by GL Robinson

A grumpy invalid meets his match in an outspoken red-head, whose opinions about self-pity prompt him to set about improving his situation, and might just convince him to try his chances at winning her heart.
Pre-order link: https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Bloom-Regency-Anthology-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B0FWN8RXGP

About the Author

Glynis Louise Robinson is from Portsmouth in southern England but has lived in the USA for over forty years with her American husband. Her romances are written in memory of her dear sister Francine, who died unexpectedly in 2018. Visit her website,  https://romancenovelsbyglrobinson.com
 

Soldier’s wife a credit to English womanhood

By

On December 12, 2025

In Jude Knight, Teatime Tattler

If it sometimes seems that The Teatime Tattler has nothing but scandal and bad news, then do not blame us, dear reader. Such stories are sadly plentiful. But every now and then a story comes across our desk that touches even our calloused hearts, and that reassures us that courage, perseverance and loyalty still exist in this war-weary world.

Such is the story of Maggie Parker and her children. Picture, if you will, the daughter of one of our brave soldiers, a sergeant, who died in the service of God and his country. Maggie, a good and modest girl for all that she had been raised by her father in the army’s train, was told to choose a husband. And quite right, too, dear reader. The army is no place for a virtuous single girl with neither father nor husband.

Dear reader, Maggie was fortunate. There was a corporal she liked, a William Parker, and he like her, and so they were married, and for a time they were blissfully happy, even in the midst of war. Their son was born, and named for his father, and little Billy grew and prospered. Never was a little family so content.

But war is a dreadful thing, and when the French were driven from Spain and Will’s regiment were given their orders to march after them and end the long war, Billy had one of those childhood illnesses that are short duration but terrifying to parents. Maggie, who was also ill as her second confinement approached, remained behind.

And that, dear reader, was the last this gallant lady heard of her dear husband.

By the time she, her son, and her new daughter were well enough to follow him to France, the peace had been signed, his regiment had been sent elsewhere, and nobody could – or, perhaps, would – tell her whether Corporal William Parker was still in the land of the living.

Maggie returned to Spain, and worked to save money to travel to England, where she hoped to find Will’s mother. A determined woman can conquer mountains, and Maggie made it to England, but on the way she found a difficulty. Parker is a common name, and the only thing she knew about Mrs. Parker’s address was the name of the village. Ashton. How many villages are there in England with the name Ashton? Twenty or more, spread across the land.

But that did not deter Maggie Parker. She arrived in Portsmouth, purchased a wheelbarrow, set her baggage and her son in it, strapped her daughter to her back, and set off to find her mother-in-law.

Spare a thought for this gallant woman, the flower of English womanhood, marching the roads of England with all the determination of a conquering army.

Dear reader, I am certain you join with all of us at The Teatime Tattler in wishing her God Speed, and a Happy Ending.

***

Maggie’s Wheelbarrow in Merry Belles

 

A year ago, Maggie’s husband marched out of Spain with his regiment to invade France. She hasn’t heard from him since, and when she followed him, the battles were over and his regiment was gone. Letters to the army, him, and his family have brought no answers, so she and her children are off to find him, even if they have to walk the length and breadth of England.

(Merry Belles is a Bluestocking Belles collection.)

Cupid Comes to the Country

By

On December 10, 2025

In Teatime Tattler

Dear Readers,
Though perhaps you are preparing for the Yuletide, signs of spring are already in the air, or at least, in the mailbox of the Teatime Tattler! Read on and enjoy!
Dear Mr. Clemens,
The ladies of Newford have long enjoyed the secret admiration of the Newford Cupid, whose lively but modest verses never fail to surprise and delight their recipients each Valentine’s Day–until now, it seems! A newcomer to our pleasant village, a Miss E, whose otherwise genteel appearance would never lead one to suspect superciliousness beneath, was heard to pronounce her verse merely “nice.” This, from an upstart governess, who ought to recognize the signal honor in the notice of our cherished Newford Cupid!
And yet, one wonders if there might be more behind the lady’s cool appraisal, for Miss E was seen next day to converse privily with Mr. Kimbrell at the village shop and post office, and to slip a note into his hands. Could it be that Miss E’s true response to the verses she received, well-hidden in public, has produced the hitherto unheard-of temerity of a reply?
One can only hope our Cupid is not so taken aback as to cease his delightful practices, and deprive Newford of one of its most beloved customs. Miss E is advised to retreat from her purpose at once, and to be content with her verses, be they ever so “nice,” and leave our dear Newford Cupid to his deserved anonymity.

Hearts in Bloom: A Regency Anthology

A spring anthology brimming with all the hope, heartache, and thrill of first love. Mysterious admirers, magical talismans, spirited matchmakers, and a bit of creative persistence overcome the obstacles to true love, no matter how daunting!
Authors: Judith Hale Everett, Rosanne E. Lortz, GL Robinson, K. Lyn Smith, Caroline Warfield

Story featured: Engaging Miss Enderby, by K. Lyn Smith

When a governess receives an anonymous valentine from the Newford Cupid, she is surprised to find it is far more earnest than his usual fare. It seems she has an admirer, but is he truly sincere, and dare she try to discover his identity?
About the Author:  K. Lyn Smith writes sweet historical romances set in Regency and Victorian England—tales full of kisses, courtship and cobbled lanes. Engaging Miss Enderby is set in the world of the Hearts of Cornwall series. Visit her website, https://www.klynsmithauthor.com

Confusion at Woodglen Hall

By

On December 6, 2025

In Teatime Tattler

Dispatch from Nether Abbas, Dorset, November 1818

Confusion reigns over at Woodglen, the duke’s estate. After sitting empty for months, the place is hopping with traffic.

To begin with, our beloved duke, His Grace of Glenmoor, has disappeared. He went off with his father’s (young and very pretty) widow to Wales and hasn’t been seen since. Maud Pritchard put it about that he ran off with the woman, but my nephew in London saw an announcement that the dowager duchess had married some Welshman, a commoner if you can believe it.

With the duke missing and the house empty, we were shocked by the arrival of some dandy claiming to be the heir. Felton Tavernash claims he is a distant cousin, and his pushy mother assures everyone it is true. The man is nothing like our own beloved duke, so I have my doubts. The mother insists the “poor, dear duke” must be dead on the wayside somewhere. Vultures they are, circling for the spoils. My nephew says betting in the clubs is that the duke did himself in, but the good folk of Nether Abbas want proof.

Before we could properly adjust to those two interlopers, another one turned up and moved in. Calls himself Gideon Kendrick. This one claims to be the duke’s older brother, but the old duke said that one had run off and got himself killed as a boy. That was years ago. Besides, the older brother was a bastard and Maud recalls he was some sort of cripple. Well the one at the Hall is a man full grown and very much alive.

What would happen next but Viscount Clavering’s forward daughter Miss Serena Selwyn went and presented herself on the doorstep. One of the maids reported she is after the so-called heir. As we should have expected, that cousin of hers, Miss Euphemia Selwyn took off after her, and they are claiming the first one took sick and the second is caring for her. Does anyone believe that Faradiddle? Not anyone in Nether Abbas I can tell you.

What we do know is there are two young unmarried women up at the Hall with single gentlemen in residence, and that is a fact. Readers can draw their own conclusions.

Milly Sheldon, Correspondent.

_____

Duke in All But Name

Secrets and lies threaten to pull them under, but a forced marriage may be their salvation.

Gideon Kendrick grew up as the despised bastard son of the Duke of Glenmoor. Exiled to the mines by his father, he has not only survived but thrived and prospered. He lives apart, wanting nothing to do with the duke, the estate—or anything in his past, except his younger brother Phillip, the new duke.

When Phillip disappears, leaving behind a letter asking his brother to care for his affairs, Gideon can’t refuse. Armed with authority making him the duke in all but name, he returns to the scene of his worst memories, facing vicious rumors and his family’s past. He also finds a grasping would-be heir, a steward with secrets, and a woman who stirs in him a desire he thought buried with his beloved wife.

Mia Selwyn lives in the shadows, an unwanted poor relation in the house of her viscount uncle. When her cousin’s hoydenish attempt to meet the supposed heir sees her drenched, ill, and in need of nursing, Mia is sent to care for her. Though warned to stay clear of the despised Kendrick, she is drawn into the dark undercurrents among the mismatched collection of residents and enthralled by the enigmatic Mr. Kendrick.

She quickly realizes he is not the monster he is rumored to be, twisted in body and mind. Instead, he is a resilient resourceful man with a deep love of family. As family, household servants, and villagers take sides on whether Gideon is the source of all the estate’s problems or its salvation, Mia and Gideon forge a partnership. Together they struggle to unravel secrets and the tangle Phillip left behind, and in the process, find a future for themselves.

Free with Kindle Unlimited or purchase the book at https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Name-Entitled-Gentlemen-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJS3GDN7/

And where is the duke? Find out in Duke in Name Only  https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Name-Only-Entitled-Gentlemen-ebook/dp/B0C1L3L968

The Author

Caroline Warfield, Bluestocking Belle and author of books featuring cheeky lads, resourceful ladies, and heroes of the loyal and protective variety who need the occasional push in the right direction.

https://www.carolinewarfield.com/

 

On Matters of the Heart, the Teeth, and Terribly Dangerous Truths

By

On December 3, 2025

In Teatime Tattler

Dearest Reader,

It has come to the attention of this author that the London season, already awash with its usual trifles and dalliances, has a new and most peculiar drama unfolding within its very heart. One might even say it has bite. The whispers begin not in the gilded ballrooms of Mayfair, but in the hallowed halls of Harley Street—a place one typically associates with ailments of the body, not affairs of the soul.

Our tale concerns a certain Miss Maisie Morgenschein, a lady of quiet disposition who has taken on the rather weighty responsibility of guardianship to a young, orphaned marquess. A noble duty, to be sure. Yet, this author cannot help but wonder at the shadows that seem to cling to Miss Morgenschein like a second shawl. She moves through society with a placid grace that seems almost… rehearsed. One might suspect she is guarding more than just her young ward. Could it be a secret so perilous that to speak it would invite ruin?

And what of her name? Morgenschein. It has a distinctly foreign air, does it not? Tongues are wagging that this is not her true name at all, but a shield to conceal a past she desperately wishes to keep buried. A past, it is said, that contains a lost love she dare not seek, for fear of leading a villain to his door. How very tragic. To yearn for a phantom while living as one herself.

But every story of a lost lady requires a hero, and it seems ours has arrived in the most unexpected of guises. Step forward, Dr. Felix Leafley, the most sought-after dentist on Harley Street. They say his hands are as skilled at soothing a toothache as they are at, well, other delicate matters. Ladies of the ton flock to his practice, citing all manner of dental distress, though this author suspects their true afflictions lie closer to the heart. Dr. Leafley is dashing, capable, and, much like our Miss Morgenschein, cloaked in an alias.

Is it not a curious coincidence? Two souls, each hiding behind a fabricated name, moving in the same circles yet never quite meeting. This author has heard tell of letters written but never sent, of near-misses in crowded drawing rooms that leave one breathless with the tension of what might have been. It is a duel of aliases, a dance of deception where the grand prize is a reunion years in the making.

We are told a single, dangerously perfect kiss has already occurred. A spark of a long-forgotten flame? Passion, dear reader, has a way of defying even the most carefully constructed secrets. It seems our quiet guardian and our handsome doctor share a history that stretches all the way back to Vienna—a past filled with whispered vows and a love torn asunder by cruel circumstance.

But as these two tormented souls inch closer to speaking their own names, a darker presence makes itself known. A villain, it is said, lurks in the shadows, the very reason for their years of hiding. This malevolent figure is closing in, and the truth, when it finally emerges, may carry a cost far greater than a tarnished reputation. It may cost them their future.

One must ask: Can love truly conquer all when it is built upon a foundation of secrets? And what will become of our Harley Street miracle workers when their carefully constructed worlds collide? This author shall be watching, pen in hand. After all, the truth will always out in the end.

A Taste of Gold

by Sara Adrien

Her silence protects the man she loves and hides the woman she is.

Miss Maisie Morgenschein is very good at pretending everything is fine. Guardian to an orphaned marquess, she remains calm and protects a dangerous truth: nobody must know her real name—which makes it impossible for her lost love to find her, and that’s what she wants most. She still writes him letters she can’t send, not knowing where he is. A connection to her might lead the villain to him.

Dr. Felix Leafley, Harley Street’s most sought-after dentist, uses an English alias to keep his patients—and the other doctors at the practice—safe. Years ago, he was a medical student with Maisie in his arms. When circumstances tore them apart, they vowed to find each other. But passion refuses to stay polite, and secrets refuse to stay buried.

She can’t use her real name to find him. He can’t use his to be found.

The result? A duel of aliases, near-miss letters, and one dangerously perfect kiss.
But just as Felix and Maisie dare to speak their names, the villain closes in—and the truth may cost them the one thing neither believed possible: a future together.

From nostalgic Vienna to elegant historical London, A TASTE OF GOLD is a steamy, heart-forward romance about second chances, found family, and the courage to claim your life. This full-length novel is a steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after and no cliffhangers. It is part of a series that can be read in any order.

Tropes you’ll love:

  • Second-chance romance
  • Secret identities & hidden pasts
  • Found family
  • Redemption and reunion
  • Medical romance
  • Guardian-ward family stakes
  • Tortured hero with a heart of gold
  • Powerful antagonist / villain
  • Slow burn with steamy payoff
  • Pining for years
  • Near-miss / almost-meet tension
  • Brotherhood of doctors
  • outsider hero

Read in Kindle Unlimited! https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Gold-Regency-Historical-Miracles-ebook/dp/B0FZL49HT4

Miracles on Harley Street series
Book 1: A Sight to Behold
Book 2: The Scent of Intuition
Book 3: A Touch of Charm
Book 4: The Sound of Seduction
Book 5: A Taste of Gold
Book 6: Bring Me A Winter Miracle

About the Author

Bestselling author Sara Adrien writes hot, heart-melting regency romance with a Jewish twist. As a law professor-turned-author, she writes about clandestine identities, whims of fate, and sizzling seduction. If you like unique and intelligent characters, deliciously sexy scenes, and the nostalgia of afternoon tea, then you’ll adore Sara Adrien’s tender tear-jerkers. She is the author of the series Infiltrating the Ton, Diamond Dynasty, Check Mates, and Miracles on Harley Street. Get 50% off her #1 bestselling 9-book bundle https://www.saraadrien.com/products/diamond-of-the-ton-collection-1

Instagram: @author_sara_adrien

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565938324623

Substack: authorsara.substack.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22249825.Sara_Adrien

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sara-adrien

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3ASara+Adrien

 

 

 

 

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