Shhh. That Blue Stocking Miss Tiffany Deveraux has a secret. The poor orphan is not so poor. But she does not want that information to become common knowledge. Being a plain Jane, any hint of money would just bring fortune hunters to her door. No. In society’s eyes she will remain the poor orphaned ward of the Earl of Marlowe. Only then will she ensure the man who professes his love for her is genuine.
Lord Slade Ware, the Marquess of Wolfarth also has a secret. He’s a renowned investment guru with everything he touches turning to gold. Or is he? Society may think so, but mostly his investments have been blind luck, and he’s pretty sure his luck is about to run out. Help comes in the form of his best friend’s ward. He’s learned Miss Tiffany Deveraux’s secret. She’s an investment guru who has accumulated a considerable sum. Marriage would seem a sensible option with so many dependents relying on him. Tiffany is the sort of wife a man like Wolf needs.
Tiffany cannot believe the handsome and wealthy Marquess of Wolfarth is actually courting her. Her! Not any of this year ton’s diamonds. As an investment fanatic he is her perfect match. She cannot resist his seduction and is falling hopelessly in love. That is until she learns his real reason for pursuing her. But revenge will be sweet…she’ll give him share advice all right, and ensures he loses more than his heart—he’ll lose his much vaunted pride. She is going to make him the laughing stock of the investment world.
The Teatime Tattler presents a few crumbs of information for our future readers:
The Investment World in the early Regency period was not easy for women to be a part of. Women are discouraged from investing in shares after the 18th century South Seas share debacle where many men blamed women investing in large numbers, on the demise of the share price and subsequent scandal. In fact, most females within the ton had to reply on their husbands or father’s to invest for them as it was deemed scandalous for women of high society to be investing. Made them appear a bluestocking…
Women could purchase shares through Stockjobbers but most refused to deal with a woman and therefore often you had to rely on your banker or lawyer to buy on your behalf. Stockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. Prior to “Big Bang” in 1986, every stock traded on the Exchange passed through a ‘jobber’s book’, that is, they acted as the ultimate purchasers of shares sold, and the source of shares purchased, by stockbrokers on behalf of their clients.
Can you imagine what this must have been like before computers. Stockjobbers worked largely on trust. That is to say, Lord Somerset for example, would give a share purchase order and a stockjobber, using their own funds would buy the shares and then Lord Somerset would pay the stockjobber.
To limit fraud, share deals were made in the presence of a third person. The terms were simply entered in a pocket-book, but were checked the next day; and the jobber’s clerk (also a member of the house) paid or received the money, and saw that the securities were correct.
There were several well-known court cases of Lords reneging on a trade if they bought and then the price plummeted, usually because a man’s word was his bond i.e. no written contracts to buy or sell.
In A Lady Never Surrender’s that is the main sub-plot running through the book. A certain Lord has reneged on a share deal and it puts Tiffany’s Stockjobber at risk of default and her hard earned money under threat.
Bronwen Evans hopes you enjoyed learning about investing in early Regency. Sign up to her newsletter to keep up with the release date for of A Lady Never Surrenders.
Also by Bronwen Evans
MISTLETOE AND MAYHEM: A REGENCY HOLIDAY COLLECTION.
There’s no Christmas like a regency Christmas spent under mistletoe! New York Times Bestselling author Cheryl Bolen and friends invite you to discover true love in an all-new collection of steamy romances this holiday collection.
Bronwen Evans’s story in this collection of Christmas novellas is THE DUKE’S CHRISTMAS LIST:
Ignored all season, Lady Harriet Rondell is affronted by Charles Spencer, the Duke of Bladestow’s sudden Christmas visit proffering marriage. Armed with a copy of Blade’s disgustingly traditional list of requirements he is looking for in his wife, Harriet sets about convincing him she is not—and never will be—his Christmas bride.
Buy Links:
Mistletoe and Mayhem: Regency Holiday Collection
You can read an excerpt on Bronwen’s website
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Bronwen Evans grew up loving books. She writes both historical and contemporary sexy romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and compassionate alpha heroes. Evans is a three-time winner of the RomCon Readers’ Crown and has been nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award. She lives in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand with her dogs Brandy and Duke.
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