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| Lord Nathaniel Brockworth - The serious member of the Brockworth family copyright Elizabeth Marchetti design (Etsy) |
Well, it was all going swimmingly and then I started on the next novel in the series 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis', and the further I have got in, the more I realized that the current plot line just isn't going to cut it. There are bits I like, but I feel the main story line is, as the saying goes, as dull as ditch-water. Even I'm finding it boring!
So, regrettably I'm going to have to cut an awful lot of what I've written already, and go back to the drawing board. Fortunately, I have a much better story-line in mind, which will bring back some familiar characters from the first two books, 'Lady Isabel's Inheritance' and 'Lady Serena's Secret'. Much more promising.
Update 21/06/2025 - Well, the new plot is much better, but I'm not going to tempt fate by releasing spoilers this early. I know what the problem with the the first attempt was - I had come up with an idea which I thought was interesting, but in fact focused too much on a rather esoteric subject, rather than the people involved.
This is a problem for me, as I am a bit of a magpie and always on the lookout for an interesting new subject to get my teeth into. In my enthusiasm, I tend to forget that historical romances are about people and circumstances, and not about facts.
Anyway, I'm now getting to the first big drama scene, and am looking forward to tempers fraying and passions rising!
If you have read the epilogue of 'Lady Serena's Secret', you will already know that Rebecca Northley - a gorgeous, rich heiress, will feature prominently in 'Lord Nathaniel's Nemesis'. She and Nathaniel have a 'past' which she is still fuming about ten years on; and he has totally forgotten. Well, maybe not totally - shall we say that it's temporarily slipped his mind!
She is a beautiful redhead - (Yes, someone - Septimus Maitland to be exact - remember him from Lady Isabel's Inheritance? He's now Lord Strathlochy!!!, does point out that the Brockworth men seem to have an almost magnetic attraction to redheads), but I digress; who has become acquainted with Lady Serena, Lady Millicent and Lady Fliss as an 'anonymous' contributor to their magazine 'La Dernier Cri', and has been invited to Serena and Hew's first ball.
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| Rebecca at work? |
Stunned meeting Nathaniel for the first time in 10 years, and by the fact that she finds herself physically attracted to the man she has made a habit of hating; she finds herself barely unable to speak to him as he waltzes her around the dance-floor. Embarrassed by her gauche behaviour, she bolts to the lady's retiring room to collect her wits. On rejoining the ball, she accidentally overhears Serena and Nathaniel discussing her odd actions. Unfortunately, Nathaniel's comments are somewhat patronising, and this solidifies her already rock-bottom opinion of him.
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| Rebecca Northley? I love her emeralds! |
Leaving the ball early, she rails against the snobbery of all aristocrats, and Nathaniel Brockworth in particular. To the horror of her chaperone she declares war on Nathaniel, and vows to redouble her efforts to show the world how unworthy he is to hold his position in Parliament.
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| A slightly more challenging Rebecca? More great emeralds! |
Of course, things do not exactly go to plan, and therein lies the fun. I shall update you soon with further small spoilers as the story develops. In the meantime, please enjoy some of the images of how I imagine Rebecca might look!
Oh, yes - I really do like emeralds!
Regards! Detta