So that you know: These three books should be read in order (see below). Also note: THE UPRIGHT SON will arrive in bookstores in June 2022. It will be the story of the Earl of Clarion.
Eli Benson, trained as a solicitor, is the steward of the Earl of Clarion. He has worked hard to clean up the horrors of the old Earl's unkind will and the new Earl's vicious mother's machinations to defraud her husband's illegitimate children. Eli is known as 'the fixer' because he is adept at seeing things logically and finding solutions. However, Eli faces his biggest threat when a young woman arrives (with the Caulfield hair and eye color) and demands help. Her mother is deceased, and she learned that her birth father was an earl.
Frances Hancock has a struggling business. Mrs. Rundle's father started the business. The company flourished until Mrs. Rundle's husband mortgaged the business after his wife's death. Now, Frances and her two siblings, Amy and Wil (children of Frances's mother and her husband, Horace Rundle), are facing starvation and eviction from their business. First, Eli must tell Frances that the Clarion estate owed her nothing because she is not in the will. On the other hand, Eli knew his employer would want to assist the young woman, his sister. However, the estate was strapped for cash because the old Earl punished his legitimate family by giving everything not entailed to his illegitimate children.
While things start to fall together, helping Frances find a way to survive with her two siblings, a new threat appears. Frances has accidents, and someone seems to want to steal her away from her family. Before long, it becomes evident that the purpose is to sell her on the Barbary Coast. Unfortunately, someone is willing to pay a high price for a blue-eyed, auburn-haired, attractive young woman.
I thought the Barbary Coast angle was a bit much, but the author handled it cautiously.
Ashmead Heirs
1. The Wayward Son (2021)
2. The Defiant Daughter (2021)
** 3. The Forgotten Daughter (2022)
4. The Upright Son (2022)
Eli Benson, trained as a solicitor, is the steward of the Earl of Clarion. He has worked hard to clean up the horrors of the old Earl's unkind will and the new Earl's vicious mother's machinations to defraud her husband's illegitimate children. Eli is known as 'the fixer' because he is adept at seeing things logically and finding solutions. However, Eli faces his biggest threat when a young woman arrives (with the Caulfield hair and eye color) and demands help. Her mother is deceased, and she learned that her birth father was an earl.
Frances Hancock has a struggling business. Mrs. Rundle's father started the business. The company flourished until Mrs. Rundle's husband mortgaged the business after his wife's death. Now, Frances and her two siblings, Amy and Wil (children of Frances's mother and her husband, Horace Rundle), are facing starvation and eviction from their business. First, Eli must tell Frances that the Clarion estate owed her nothing because she is not in the will. On the other hand, Eli knew his employer would want to assist the young woman, his sister. However, the estate was strapped for cash because the old Earl punished his legitimate family by giving everything not entailed to his illegitimate children.
While things start to fall together, helping Frances find a way to survive with her two siblings, a new threat appears. Frances has accidents, and someone seems to want to steal her away from her family. Before long, it becomes evident that the purpose is to sell her on the Barbary Coast. Unfortunately, someone is willing to pay a high price for a blue-eyed, auburn-haired, attractive young woman.
I thought the Barbary Coast angle was a bit much, but the author handled it cautiously.
Ashmead Heirs
1. The Wayward Son (2021)
2. The Defiant Daughter (2021)
** 3. The Forgotten Daughter (2022)
4. The Upright Son (2022)
