When a visit from a duke and an exiled painter ends in murder, Judith and Louisa-Margaretta must find the culprit before the magistrate hauls them away. Miss Louisa-Margaretta Haddington is set on repairing her reputation in society. She’s determined to make her first love, Isaac, regret his choice to marry another. Previously an indifferent hostess, she sets about giving a visiting duke the house party of his life while making sure that his prized portrait is not stolen. The duke’s portraits have been going missing, and he hopes that the Haddingtons’ mansion in Derbyshire will provide both scenery and security. But Wycliff Castle is not as safe as it seems, at least not for one of its visitors. Miss Judith St Clair, entertaining a marriage proposal that could break up her family, tries not to take on Louisa-Margaretta’s troubles. And Louisa-Margaretta’s mother, blaming Judith for her daughter’s foul mood, no longer welcomes the pious young woman as a guest. But when a murder throws the house party into disarray, the local magistrate suspects both young ladies. Soon, the two friends must find a way to save their reputations and their lives. And with Louisa-Margaretta’s troubled recklessness and Judith’s natural reticence, saving their hearts will be nearly as difficult. This Regency murder mystery will transport you to the unblemished beauty of Derbyshire.

Derbyshire, December 1815. A cozy family Christmas turns deadly when a visitor is murdered. Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, still reeling from a broken engagement, must come to terms with both her parents’ displeasure. Though her family’s Christmas visitors are a welcome distraction, one handsome man in particular promises to raise her spirits by Christmas. But she cannot live for pleasure alone, as her father’s financial difficulties threaten both her home and her family’s reputation. What’s more, there are warning signs that one of their visitors, an old lady, has come expressly to defraud Louisa-Margaretta’s family. Judith St Clair promised to help unmask the swindler, but she has her own troubles. Her father, usually the most mild-mannered of men, has not given her marriage his blessing. Unless Judith’s fiancé, Mr Ramsbury, quickly finds a profession, Judith will get not one penny for her dowry. Judith’s sister Miriam is now engaged to a man who once proposed to Judith herself, raising tensions in the St Clair household. But Judith is too preoccupied by a sudden murder at Wycliff Castle to properly tend to her family ties. The magistrate has no intention of sparing the Haddingtons or the St Clairs, and Judith and Louisa-Margaretta quickly find themselves tangled in his false accusations. If they wish to save their fortunes and their reputations, they must find the killer before Christmas. This Regency cozy historical mystery will whisk you away to the English countryside.