{"id":2289,"date":"2020-04-13T21:01:16","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T04:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/?p=2289"},"modified":"2020-04-13T20:46:40","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T03:46:40","slug":"regency-romance-ladies-wagering-whist-society-meredith-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/13\/regency-romance-ladies-wagering-whist-society-meredith-bond\/","title":{"rendered":"Regency Romance with a smile: the Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society by Meredith Bond"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m looking forward to learning more about the next three books in this great series. Here are books 4-6! Welcome, Meredith Bond and The Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"MeredithWhen love is a gamble, place your bets on the Ladies\u2019 Wagering Whist Society.<\/p>\n

The women of the Ladies\u2019 Wagering Whist Society gather every Wednesday for an on-going game of whist, but while most people play cards for money, the ladies of the Wagering Whist Society play for secrets. The person with the fewest number of points at the end of a game must divulge her deepest, darkest secret. Not a word of anyone\u2019s secret may be shared outside of the group, but that doesn\u2019t mean that the ladies can\u2019t offer assistance to anyone who needs it\u2014and they all do at one point or another.<\/p>\n

This nine-book Regency romance series, spread out over three seasons, is\"Duchess\" filled with laughter, hidden identities, private fears, adorable children, secrets, and the sweetest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Duchess.<\/p>\n

Each book features one of the eight members. Book number nine will feature Joshua Powell, Viscount Wickford, owner of Powell\u2019s Club for the Refined Gentleman. Every book is a stand-alone novel with at least one central romance and a secondary second-chance romance featuring an older couple.<\/p>\n

Love is what the Ladies\u2019 Wagering Whist Society does best. Whether it\u2019s helping their own members or those close to them, the women of the Wagering Whist Society find that they\u2019ve gotten quite good at helping couples arrange their cards just right.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A Trick of Mirrors<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\n~March 22, 1807~<\/p>\n

Beatrice Kendrick crouched on the floor of the carriage as it moved through the streets of London. It wasn\u2019t easy to keep her balance in the moving vehicle and pull on the maid\u2019s cloak at the same time, but somehow, she managed. She pulled up the hood covering her tell-tale red hair and ducked her head down so no one could see her face, identical to her sister\u2019s, who was sitting and staring out the window. They moved ever closer to their aunt\u2019s Mayfair home where they would be staying for the Season.<\/p>\n

Bee carefully sat back on the seat next to her maid, Annie, making sure to keep her head down, so her hood wouldn\u2019t be dislodged. They couldn\u2019t risk anyone even getting a glimpse of her.<\/p>\n

As planned, Bee arranged herself so she couldn\u2019t be seen when the door to the carriage opened outside of Lord and Lady Blakemore\u2019s home. Her sister Bel and Annie got down, making a huge fuss over the beauty of the house and the number of footmen pouring out of the house to take in all of Bel\u2019s luggage.<\/p>\n

The door to the coach opened again, causing Bee to hold her breath and scrunch down even farther into the tiniest ball against the side.<\/p>\n

\u201cAch, ye don\u2019t need to check inside the carriage,\u201d Bee heard the coachman scold someone. \u201cMiss Kendrick only had a luncheon basket in there with her, and I\u2019ll bring it round to the kitchen meself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The door closed again, and Bee allowed herself to breathe. If she were caught now, their entire plan would be jeopardized. Months of arguing back and forth between her and Bel, weeks of Bee trying to convince her sister that she did, in fact, need to be there with her in London and that, no, simply relaying information by mail about the men she met would not be enough. Days of swearing to her sister that she truly had no desire to subvert Bel\u2019s debut into society for her own ends. She was going to happily enter society on her own the following year just as their parents had planned, but there was absolutely no way that Bee was going to allow her sister, with her cavalier attitude toward rules and proper behavior when she got an idea in her head, to come to London on her own.<\/p>\n

Bee loved her twin sister, but they could not risk Bel getting into scrapes the way she did when they went out to parties and assemblies at home. She had to find a husband this season, so Bee could be presented next year. Their parents had been very clear that they could only afford to present one girl at a time. But no amount of love could change the fact that Bel was, well, flighty and not always the best judge of character.<\/p>\n

It had taken months for Bee to show her sister this truth and weeks for her to agree that maybe it would be best if Bee were there to actually meet the men she might consider marrying. And now the time was at hand for them to put this plan into action, and it was vital that no one knew both<\/em> twins were there. Bee could not risk getting caught. God only knew if they would get this opportunity again, were she to be found now.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A Bid for Romance<\/a>
\n~March 26, 1807~<\/p>\n

Margaret started to return to the sitting room after seeing her sister-in-law off when she suddenly noticed the footman. She stopped. She didn\u2019t recall ever seeing him before. She would most certainly have noticed such an Adonis.<\/p>\n

All footmen were easy on the eyes. It was one trait which all employers looked for, although Margaret did have to admit that the duchess wasn\u2019t especially particular in that regard. But this man\u2026 He was tall, blond, and blue-eyed, and the way he filled out his livery made it difficult for Margaret to keep her eyes above his shoulders\u2014his very, broad shoulders. Somehow, they kept straying down his long regal neck, broad chest, narrow hips, and well-turned calves encased in white stockings.<\/p>\n

Her eyes flew back up to his face. He\u2019d raised an eyebrow at her inspection of him and seemed to be trying very hard not to smile. Just before her gaze met his, he quickly reverted to staring blankly over her shoulder as a good servant should. Margaret felt her face heat with embarrassment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you new?\u201d she asked the man. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I don\u2019t recall seeing you before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, my lady,\u201d he said, in a soft baritone with a refined accent. What footman had such impeccable diction? \u201cI started the day before yesterday, but today is my first day at the front door, er, the butler insisted. I believe he doesn\u2019t like taking the position?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult for him with his lame leg,\u201d she explained briefly. \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d she asked because she always liked to address people by their correct names. She knew some people simply called all their footman the same name so they didn\u2019t have to actually notice who was serving them, but Margaret thought that a horrid practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames, my lady. My friends call me Jamie,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames,\u201d she said with a smile\u2014she didn\u2019t dare presume friendship. \u201cIt\u2019s very nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy working here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, my lady.\u201d He bowed slightly and continued to stare over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

How odd it was that Margaret wished he would look at her instead. She shook off her fancy and turned to go back upstairs.<\/p>\n

~*~<\/p>\n

Jamie watched Lady Margaret slowly float up the stairs, her filmy sprigged white muslin gown flowing around her. Why didn\u2019t he have his sketchbook when he needed it? On the other hand, he didn\u2019t know if he would be allowed to have a sketchbook while on front door duty. He\u2019d have to ask.<\/p>\n

But my word, she was even more beautiful up close than he\u2019d realized.<\/p>\n

Mr. Holton had pointed the young lady out as he had been given a tour of the house and informed of all the rules and expectations. Holton had informed them that Lady Margaret was the duchess\u2019s charge for the season and a guest in the house. She was to be treated with the utmost respect, they\u2019d been told, as if she were a duchess herself, which made sense since she wasn\u2019t too far off, being the sister to one.<\/p>\n

Seeing Lady Margaret in passing through a doorway and having her stand directly in front of him couldn\u2019t have been more different than sketching with a pencil to using a paint brush to create a portrait. Seeing her at a distance she could have been dull, one-dimensional, but in person, face-to-face, she was vibrant, beautiful, soft and\u2014what really surprised Jamie\u2014kind.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a><\/p>\n

An Affair of Hearts<\/a>
\n~April 21, 1807~<\/p>\n

Everything sparkled. The chandeliers with their crystal droplets reflected the candlelight, the gilt-edged mirrors surrounded by wall sconces echoed the light, even the guests dressed in their finest glittered, laughed, talked, and danced with brilliance. Elizabeth, Countess St. Vincent, sighed happily as she turned to her friend and hostess for this evening\u2019s soir\u00e9e. \u201cYou have done such a magnificent job this evening, Lydia,\u201d she said. Even Lydia was looking quite sparkling this evening with her bright green eyes shining, the color picking up the pretty green embroidery edging her pale blue gown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, Lady Welles, you absolutely have outdone yourself.\u201d Mrs. Aldridge, standing on Lydia\u2019s other side, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Lydia said, giving them both a bright smile. \u201cElizabeth, your dress this evening is lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, thank you. It is one I brought with me from the countryside, but I think it\u2019s holding up quite well here in London,\u201d Elizabeth said. She\u2019d only been in town for a month, but already she had a good feeling about this season, her very first since her disastrous come-out six years ago.<\/p>\n

She had, of course, also dressed to impress, just like everyone else. Despite the fact she was still in half-mourning for her departed husband, her gown of pale violet with deeper purple ribbons and lace was in the latest fashion, even if the d\u00e9colletage was a little lower than what she normally wore. It was still quite conservative for a lady of her age and stature, but Elizabeth, with her full figure, had always gone for a more demure look. Her dark brown hair was carefully tamed into a complicated coiffure with purple ribbons woven through and a few curls allowed to rest gently over her shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI beg your pardon, Lady St. Vincent?\u201d a footman asked, approaching Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLord St. Vincent has requested your presence in the library,\u201d he said with a slight bow.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. Tell him I\u2019ll be right there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs everything all right, do you suppose?\u201d Mrs. Aldridge asked with a look of concern marring her motherly countenance. She was a kind, well-respected older lady who was a member of a very exclusive club known as the Ladies\u2019 Wagering Whist Society, along with Lydia and six other prominent ladies of the ton<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth didn\u2019t know exactly what the ladies of the Whist Society did\u2014they claimed they merely played cards together every Wednesday afternoon, but so far their influence seemed to be quite significant and growing. From what Elizabeth understood, they were responsible for no fewer than six prominent matches among the ton<\/em>, including that of Elizabeth\u2019s own stepson, who had just requested her presence. They also held an annual party to raise funds for the people of the Rookeries that earned a significant amount as well as being one of The Events of the season.<\/p>\n

The ladies of the Wagering Whist Society were, in short, what just about every woman of the ton<\/em> desired to be\u2014well-respected, well-known, influential. They made a positive impact, helping those who needed it without asking for anything in return. If they had been accepting additional members, Elizabeth would have been first in line. As it was, she was proud to call its members her friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t imagine what St. Vincent wants. I\u2019ll just go and find out. If you\u2019ll excuse me?\u201d Elizabeth gave the two ladies a nod and then went off to find the library.<\/p>\n

Check out this collection by Meredith, too! Gotta love Regency Romance!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m looking forward to learning more about the next three books in this great series. Here are books 4-6! Welcome, Meredith Bond and The Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society! When love is a gamble, place your bets on the Ladies\u2019 Wagering Whist Society. The women of the Ladies\u2019 Wagering Whist Society gather every Wednesday for an … Continue reading “Regency Romance with a smile: the Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society by Meredith Bond”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,3,1],"tags":[1276,1277,1275,27,1273,114,1274,408],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-topics","category-general","category-uncategorized","tag-a-bid-for-romance-book","tag-a-trick-of-mirrors","tag-an-affair-of-hearts","tag-historical-romance","tag-ladies-wagering-whist-society","tag-meredith-bond","tag-regency-period","tag-regency-romance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9wA33-AV","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2289"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2305,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions\/2305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomadauthors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}