A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors:Julia Seales
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Mysteries
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 4 MB
- Price: Free
Introductions
In the English countryside there was a small township called Swampshire,
comprised of several lovely mansions and one disgusting swamp. This was
the home—one of the mansions, not the swamp—of Beatrice Steele. The
swamp was inhabited by an overpopulation of luminescent frogs. The visual
effect at night was arresting, though the incessant croaking deterred some
who might have otherwise chosen to settle the charming village.
Beatrice Steele was plump, with a cheerful gap in her front teeth and a
white streak in her black curls, gained during a particularly competitive round
of whist. She had a passionate disposition and a lively wit, which endeared
her to friends and family—most of the time. For Beatrice was curious by
nature, and therefore noticed too much, felt too much, and wondered too
much about life outside her village. Others considered this behavior an
unnecessary to-do, as Beatrice would surely settle down with one of the
young men of Swampshire in a mansion that hadn’t been overtaken by frogs,
start a family, and live happily from then on.
This was the expected path of a lady, for there were strict rules of
decorum in Swampshire. Years ago, the town’s founding father, Baron
Fitzwilliam Ashbrook, had fled the raucous city of London for the
countryside in search of a place he could shape on principles of perfect
etiquette. In a matter of mere months, he penned a pamphlet professing these
principles: The Guide to Swampshire. Believing that women were
particularly prone to temptation, he wrote the accompanying books The
Lady’s Guide to Swampshire, Volumes I and II. He also wrote The Lady’s
Guide to Swampshire (Travel Edition), lest a woman find herself in an
indecorous situation while on the go. These books became the foundation of
the Swampshire social scene.
Failure to adhere to these rules could tarnish a woman’s reputation beyond
repair. According to The Lady’s Guide, a disgraced woman was forbidden to
call upon friends, entertain suitors, or even remain close to her family, lest
she corrupt them by association. No self-respecting lady would speak to her,
and no gentleman of honor would make her an offer of marriage. She could
not even patronize local dress shops or ribbon stores.
Friendless, single, and dressed in last season’s garb, a fallen woman
would therefore be forced to leave the village. Only a morally corrupt city
would accept her, and once she made it to Paris, she would surely be robbed
by a mime and left for dead. But she might not even get that far. Bedtime
stories in Swampshire told of women who, while attempting to flee, were
swallowed up by one of the region’s infamous “squelch holes,” never to be
seen again. Therefore, women were reassured that commitment to etiquette
was for their own good. Rule-breakers could not be permitted to corrupt this
safe, orderly, idyllic world.
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