The ambitious stepmother

Fidelis Morgan

The Countess Ashby de la Zouche would not be every parent's choice of chaperone for a beautiful teenager, and still fewer would entrust her with finding the girl a suitable husband - in France, of all places. The second Mrs Alderman Franklyn-Green, however, is willing to go to any lengths to get rid of her unwanted stepdaughter Virginia. And the promise of 100 guineas and a sojourn in the land of gay balls and all-night gambling is sufficient to secure the Countess's services, even if the girl is a complete shrew. Sadly, the exiled English Court at St Germain is far from the den of iniquity the Countess and her maidservant Alpiew were hoping for. Worse, any hopes of enjoying fine French cuisine are dashed when a fellow guest is poisoned. Once more the Countess and Alpiew are plunged into a dangerous investigation. In addition to unravelling plots against three kings and negotiating the culinary eccentricities of the Court of Versailles, our sleuths encounter the Bastille's most mysterious prisoner, and discover - among other depravities - why Lord Whippingham is paying young women to munch in his house of disrepute.