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Book Details
A Husband is Hushed Up
A fatal fall. A duchess determined to uncover the truth. And barely any time for tea.
Fenshire, 1891. It was meant to be a birthday celebration weekend in the country—cucumber sandwiches, polite conversation, and maybe a waltz or two. But when the Duke of Stortford is found dead in a crumpled heap at the foot of the stairs everything goes dreadfully sideways. The police declare it a tragic accident. His wife, Alice, has her doubts. After all, only hours before, the Duke had promised to give up his mistress and make a go of their marriage. Now he’s inconveniently deceased.
Driven by a need for answers, and helped by her fiercely loyal maid Maud, her observant footman George, and her childhood friend Lord Rushton, Alice sets about uncovering the truth. But as she navigates a house full of secrets, simmering tensions, and more than one guest with murderously bad manners, her suspect pool grows to include those closest to her. Can she piece together the truth? Or will her husband’s murderer get away with it after all?
The guests are leaving. The killer may be among them. Time is running out…
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Husband-Hushed-Duchess-Stortford-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0FB916FDV
About Helen Golden
Helen Golden spins mysteries that are charmingly British, delightfully deadly, and served with a twist of humour.
With quirky characters, clever red herrings, and plots that keep the pages turning, she’s the author of the much-loved A Right Royal Cozy Investigation series, following Lady Beatrice and her friends—including one clever little dog—as they uncover secrets hidden in country houses and royal palaces. Her new historical mystery series, The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries, is set in Victorian England and introduces an equally curious sleuth from Lady Beatrice’s own family tree—where murders are solved over cups of tea, whispered gossip, and overheard conversations in drawing rooms and grand estates.
Helen lives in a quintessential English village in Lincolnshire with her husband, stepdaughter, and a menagerie of pets—including a dog, several cats, a tortoise, and far too many fish.
If you love clever puzzles, charming settings, and sleuths with spark, her books are waiting for you.
Follow Helen Golden
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/helengolden_author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helengoldenauthor
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helengoldenauthor
Excerpt
A Husband is Hushed Up by Helen Golden — Sarandipity’s
Intro
It’s May 1891. Alice, Duchess of Stortford, is in Francis Court, in Fenshire, to celebrate her father’s 60th birthday. Also on the agenda is Alice’s marriage to the Duke, Vance. The couple have agreed to attend the gathering together in the hope of mending their fractured relationship.
By the time Vance arrives at Francis Court, Alice is already braced for an uncomfortable reunion. What she isn’t prepared for is the sight of him strolling in arm-in-arm with her flirtatious cousin, Lilly Forthington. With her best friend, Fee, ready to leap to her defence, the drawing room quickly becomes a battlefield of barbed politeness and barely concealed outrage. And then, just to complicate matter more, a dashing earl—and rumoured admirer—appears, followed swiftly by yet another man with strong opinions about Alice’s life…
Extract
Alice clenched her jaw. How dare she come here, to my parents’ home, and humiliate me like this? She glanced at Vance, searching his face for some sign of shame or regret, but all she saw was a weak-willed fool completely under Lilly’s spell. Well, that makes it easy then! She would hear Vance out as she’d promised. But she’d been foolish to hope. At least now, she needn’t waste time mourning something that no longer existed. If this was the man her husband had become, she wanted no part of him.
Vance, suddenly seeming to sense the tension, cleared his throat. “Er, Lilly, perhaps you would like to retire to your room and refresh yourself before dinner?” He rang the bell for Stokes.
Lilly pouted prettily. “Oh, but I was so hoping to spend more time with cousin Alice, Vance.”
Whereas I don’t want to be anywhere near you!
“It’s been such a long while since we were in each other’s company, and…” She trailed off at his insistent look, then sighing, she offered Alice the faintest of curtseys and swept from the room, her curls bouncing with indignation.
Alice resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Thank goodness she’s gone. Now to Vance…
But before she could open her mouth, Fee rounded on him, her blue eyes flashing with indignation. “What in heaven’s name are you thinking, Vance, bringing that woman here?”
Fee! Although she felt a rush of gratitude to her best friend, she really wanted to tackle her husband herself.
Vance blinked at Fee, seeming genuinely perplexed by her outrage. “Lilly? But she’s a neighbour, Fiona. It was only polite to offer her a ride.”
Alice frowned. “You could have—”
“Polite?” Fee scoffed, interrupting her. “Is that what you call flaunting her in front of your wife and the entire ton?”
Vance spluttered. “Now hold on—”
A knock sounded at the door, startling them all.
“The Earl of Rivershore, Your Grace,” Stokes announced as he stepped to one side, and Henry Rivershore strode into the room, all dashing good looks and effortless charm.
Ignoring Vance and Fee, he came straight to her. “Alice,” he greeted, his voice warm with familiarity as he bowed over her hand. “You look lovelier than ever.”
Heat prickled in her cheeks. She was acutely aware of Vance’s gaze boring into her. Let him look. Let him stew. She had nothing to hide except the sudden, unhelpful urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Fee, meanwhile, looked like the cat who’d got the cream. “Lord Rivershore! We are so pleased you could make it.”
Henry smiled at Fee briefly, then his eyes returned to Alice’s face. “I stopped at Francis Lodge, where I learned that you ladies were here. I couldn’t resist the chance to see you again, Your Grace.” She took a shallow breath, then he turned back to Fee. “And of course, Lady Tilling, I am under strict orders from your husband to escort you back to your home.”
Fee’s delighted laugh rang out, a stark contrast to the tension thrumming through Alice’s body. She couldn’t help but wonder if Vance had heard the rumours about her and Henry in London. She quickly glanced to her right. Oh dear! Judging by Vance’s thunderous expression, it seemed he had.
“How… thoughtful of you, Henry,” she managed, her mind whirling. This is all so embarrassing… She looked at Fee. Help!
“Oh, where are my manners?” Fee chirped with exaggerated cheerfulness. “Lord Henry Rivershore, may I present His Grace, the Duke of Stortford?”
“And Alice’s husband…” Vance added gruffly.
The air in the room seemed to thicken as the two men sized each other up. Alice held her breath, half-expecting pistols at dawn to be declared on the spot.
“Charmed,” Henry drawled, his smile not quite reaching his eyes as they exchanged a stiff handshake.
“And how do—” Vance began.
The door opened. Her stomach gave a fresh twist as Baxter, Lord Rushton, stepped into the room with the unhurried assurance of a man entirely at home at Francis Court.
Naturally! Of course he would arrive now—just as Vance and Henry were engaged in the sort of silent masculine standoff that made women roll their eyes and footmen flee. And now Baxter, her childhood friend and Fee’s older brother, was here to complete the set.
He’d always treated her like a younger sister in need of sturdy guidance, even long after she’d become a duchess with opinions of her own. Protective to a fault and completely impervious to hints, she could already feel the weight of his disapproving gaze preparing to land squarely on her shoulders.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Fee fighting a grin. She recognised the look on her brother’s face too—and clearly found it every bit as predictable as Alice did.
This is all I need—one more man trying to manage my life!
