The first of the “two earls” featured in this collection was released in the summer of 2022 as part of the Regency Summer Garden Anthology (which is only available in print format).
Rose Vickers has been sent home by her parents from India where she has lived since she was a mere child. She arrives in England with her Indian ayah (a native maid or nursemaid employed by Europeans in India) and the woman’s son in tow. For some five years she had attempted to keep her estate from faltering, but Rose knows nothing of running the estate, and as both parents have perished in an uprising in India where her father served with the East India Company’s army, she has trusted first one scoundrel and then another. She will not fully inherit until she is one and twenty, so what does she do before then?
The East India Company was founded in 1600. It purpose was to foster trade with the so-called “East Indies.” By the Regency, the Company sent a variety of products back to Britain, including silk, cotton muslins, tea, spices, salt, porcelain, opium, etc.
At the same time, The Company controlled a large territory and a population of millions, setting the foundation of what would become the British Empire.
The EIC even had its own army, with 260,000 soldiers. These soldiers enforced the execution of trade and taxation agreements and made quite certain Indian labourers did as they were told. Rose’s father served in this army.
The Earl’s English Rose: A Regency Romance Novella
The new Earl of Everwalt was not one to appreciate being bamboozled by an obstinate, headstrong girl, though pretty she may be. If he did not require her to repair his reputation, he would leave her to the schemes she had concocted to save her father’s estate.
Just because he was now her guardian, the Earl of Everwalt had no right to decide who she might marry. Therefore, Miss Rose Vickers sets out for London to provide the new earl a piece of her mind, only to run into a highwayman. As if scripted, the new earl proves to be her savior, but it would be some time before the suspicious Rose and the extremely susceptible Everwalt learn the depth of their connection and the true meaning of love.
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The second story in this collection was originally released the summer of 2021 as part of the Regency Mid-Summer Mischief anthology.
In the story, the heroine’s father is labeled “Brook’s Crook” for is from Brook, a hamlet in the civil parish of Bramshaw, in Hampshire, England. It lies just inside the New Forest. The hamlet contains a mix of 18th and 19th century cottages, just south of the village of Bramshaw. There are two inns in Brook on opposite sides of the road – The Green Dragon and The Bell Inn. Both buildings date from the 18th century, albeit with 19th and 20th century alterations. Brook is also home to the club-house of Bramshaw Golf Club, which claims to be the oldest golf club in Hampshire.
Just south of the village at Lower Canterton lies the Rufus Stone. This stone is said to mark the place where in 1100 the then King of England, William Rufus, was killed by an arrow whilst out hunting. The arrow was fired by a French nobleman, Walter Tyrell, but it has never been established if the death was an accident or murder.
The Jewel Thief and the Earl
Grandison Franklyn, 8th Earl Harlow, has earned the moniker “Grandison, the Great” for a variety of reasons: his well-honed attitude of superiority; his appearance; and a string of mistresses, most notably Lady Jenest, who created a “great” row when he cut her loose.
Miss Colleen Everley is the daughter of England’s most notorious thief, a man called “Brook’s Crook.” Colleen has been taught many of her father’s skills, along with an eye for the value of each item in a room. Unfortunately, the lady does not possess Thomas Everley’s daring.
Lord Harlow and Miss Everley must combine forces to return Queen Charlotte’s sapphire necklace before Her Majesty learns it is missing. Toss in a healthy sprinkling of quirky characters and missteps in the investigation, and the reader will find a delightful tale that goes beyond the “Cinderella” effect and opposites attract.
GIVEAWAY – I have three eBook copies of Two Earls to Love available to those who comment below. The winner will be contacted by email and announced July 30, 2023. Good Luck!
Purchase Links:
Available to Read on Kindle Unlimited
Kindle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8F7SDT7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
BookBub BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/an-escape-to-love-by-regina-jeffers
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