Rosalind Thorne #8
The Matter of the Secret Bride is Darcie Wilde’s eighth novel in her Regency series featuring Rosalind Thorne (but see below, on series numbering). Rosalind is a gentlewoman whose family has fallen on hard times after her father’s abandonment and later, his death. To make a living, she assists aristocratic women with their difficulties, helping them avoid scandal and, often, solving crimes. At first she was able to do so discreetly, frequently going undercover, but now she has acquired a reputation, as well as several highly-placed patronesses. She shares a house with her friend Alice Littlefield, a gossip columnist turned novelist, and Alice’s lover Amelia, Rosalind’s former maid, who now runs a school for impoverished girls. Rosalind’s love interest is Adam Harkness, who used to be a Bow Street Runner, but has now left because his politically-minded boss considers him a radical. Now he works for the coroner and helps Rosalind in her investigations.
This book places Rosalind in the middle of one of the most notorious scandals of the Regency period. It is 1820, and the Prince Regent has assumed the throne as George IV. The new king wants to divorce his wife, Caroline of Brunswick. It has long been rumored that he secretly married a Catholic widow, Maria Fitzherbert, before he married the queen. If proven true, this secret marriage would mean the king was guilty of bigamy. It would also be illegal, because the king, or the heir to the throne, was not allowed to marry a Catholic. If it turned out he did so, he would have to give up his place in the succession. The queen has recently returned to London for the divorce trial, and many of the people of London are on her side, because the king has treated her so badly.
Mrs. Fitzherbert summons Rosalind to her house, and Adam accompanies her. It turns out that a document–a marriage contract between her and the king, which would prove the secret marriage actually did take place–has been stolen from her house, and she asks Rosalind to retrieve it, and discover who the thief was. At first Rosalind wonders if one of the servants stole it, and she comes up with a plan to have Amelia join the staff as Mrs. Fitzherbert’s new lady’s maid, while she observes the servants and asks questions. But Rosalind and Adam notice the house is being watched, and Adam recognizes one of the watchers as a rather disreputable newspaperman. Rosalind also sees the king ride by on horseback. Are he and Mrs. Fitzherbert still having relations? And does Mrs. Fitzherbert want to be queen, and does she hope to present the document at the trial as proof that she should be? An angry mob, supporters of Queen Caroline, surround Rosalind’s and Adam’s carriage on the way home, and they both realize what danger they’ve gotten themselves into by taking the case, but it’s too late to go back.
This is only the beginning of the troubles. Rosalind and Adam soon discover that a web of intrigue surrounds the stolen marriage certificate, and several different parties are involved. Mrs. Fitzherbert has two adopted daughters, Minney and Mary Ann, who have unexpectedly returned to London after she sent them away while the trial is going on. Are they her daughters by the king? No one knows. The older daughter, Minney, is in love with George Dawson, a cavalry captain who is considered beneath her station. Amelia discovers the romance and agrees to help Minney, while at the same time questioning Dawson’s motives. One of the footmen in the household, Thomas Faller, has been acting suspiciously and making advances to the women, including Amelia. He offers to do favors for them, at a price.
Mrs. Fitzherbert, as it turns out, is in debt, and she has requested the services of a lawyer named Josiah Poole. Rosalind and Adam discover that Poole, an unscrupulous character who specializes in debt, was seen sneaking out of Mrs. Fitzherbert’s house around the same time the marriage certificate disappeared. They assume that he was the one who stole it, possibly with the help of Faller. And then, just when Adam is about to meet with him, Poole is murdered. Adam and his former Bow Street colleagues–the ones with whom he is still on good terms–search the pub room Poole used as an office, but they cannot find the document. It is not at Poole’s house, either. And Poole’s family does not seem to mourn his death, or be particularly surprised by it.
Poole’s household consists of his second wife, the mother of his two young sons, as well as her brother, who is an invalid, and Poole’s daughter by his first wife, a young woman of marriageable age who rejects the marriage her father and stepmother wanted to make for her. There is also a maid who seems to have feelings for Thomas Faller, which means there is a connection between Poole’s and Mrs. Fitzherbert’s households. All of these people have motives to kill Poole, but where is the document? And what was the motive for stealing it? Was it to embarrass the king? Or was it to help the king by proving he was already married, so his divorce from the queen will be granted? Both sides in the trial have motives.
Rosalind and Adam must act quickly, though, before word of her involvement in the scandal reaches the newspapers. Already one of her wealthy patronesses, who is firmly on the queen’s side, is threatening to withdraw her support, and another is threatening to slander Rosalind and Mrs. Fitzherbert. Adam also discovers that his former boss at Bow Street, as well as Bow Street’s spymaster, might have played a role in the theft. Were they involved in the murder as well? Adam no longer has the authority to question people that he did when he was with Bow Street, so he and Rosalind and their friends must solve the case on their own.
This is a fascinating and complex mystery with many different threads that seem separate, and some of them possibly unnecessary, at first, but they do turn out to be important, and everything comes together in a very satisfactory way at the end. I love the way Wilde interweaves the real history of George IV and his secret marriage and divorce trial with the fictional characters of Rosalind, Adam, and their friends. She brings the history to life for the reader.
Without spoiling anything, I will say that this novel brings Rosalind and Adam to an important point in their relationship. Adam has wanted to marry Rosalind for a long time, but Rosalind doesn’t want to marry, ever, because it would mean losing her independence. All her property would become her husband’s. As readers of the earlier books will know, she turned down a marriage proposal from a duke because of this desire to maintain her independence. This book does bring a resolution to that problem. I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for Rosalind and Adam as the series goes ahead.
One word on the series, though: this book is being marketed as #3 in the Useful Woman series. It is actually not book #3, but book #8. The first five were called Rosalind Thorne mysteries, but for some reason which is still not clear to me, the series took on a new title with book #6. It is all the same series, though, so do not be confused by the numbering. This book can stand alone, but I think it is best to start from the beginning to learn more about Rosalind’s background, and how the characters’ relationships developed. I highly recommend the series, especially for fans of other Regency mystery authors like Andrea Penrose, Celeste Connally, and Anna Lee Huber (a slightly later period than the Regency, I know). Rosalind is an admirable heroine, a strong and independent woman, and fans of these other series will enjoy reading about her. — Vicki Kondelik