Book: Mademoiselle At Arms A Georgian Romance By Elizabeth Bailey pdf download

Set in the late Georgian era, Elizabeth Bailey’s traditional historical romance features an unconventional heroine with a rebellious spirit who runs headlong into adventure.

Threatened with a pistol by the young lady discovered in a deserted mansion, Major Gerald Alderley is instantly intrigued. Who is the beautiful intruder? And why does she disguise herself as a nun? What circumstance has thrust her into an enterprise both foolhardy and dangerous? The girl’s French accent places her with the émigrés from across the channel, except that Mademoiselle insists she is English.

Set on unravelling the mystery, Gerald begins a relentless pursuit, hunting down every possible clue – much to the indignation of Mademoiselle. When her life proves to be in danger from the villainous émigré Valade, Gerald has his work cut out. For Mademoiselle Melusine, engaged in a desperate battle to prove her true identity, believes she is well able to take care of herself and is determined not to be rescued.

Mademoiselle at Arms

Threatened with a pistol by the young lady he finds in a deserted mansion, Major

Gerald Alderley is intrigued. Who is the beautiful intruder? And why does she

disguise herself as a nun? Why is she involved in an enterprise both foolhardy

and dangerous? The girl’s accent suggests an émigré but Mademoiselle insists

she is English.

In the quiet of an autumn afternoon, the deserted mansion slept. Or appeared to

do so. Concealed among the trees that edged the estate grounds, the watchers

paused.

There were two of them. Men of action by the scarlet coats with their grey

facings—insignia of the county militia. Cocked hats and buckled swords spoke

of rank. Officers were these. Too skilled to advertise their presence by a show of

arms and men. The spy—if there was one hiding out in the late Jarvis

Remenham’s empty house—would be taken unawares.

Wary they might be. Sanguine they were not. In fact, one of them was

downright sceptical.

‘Seems quiet enough,’ observed the junior officer, his gaze raking the

shuttered windows of the building’s grey stone frontage.

‘Don’t be too sure,’ responded Major Gerald Alderley on a dry note. ‘I am

expecting a huge rat to emerge any second. Waving a white flag, naturally.’

Captain Roding grinned. ‘Why not a French flag?’

‘Because I don’t believe that fool Pottiswick could tell French from Arabic,

even if he heard it as he says he did—which I take leave to doubt.’

The lodgekeeper had been in fine fettle by the time Major Alderley had

produced his investigatory force at the gates.

‘Gabbling and muttering in a foreign tongue, that’s what I heard, sir,’ had

declared the gap-toothed ancient, when he told them of the initial foray he had

made, sneaking around the house in the dark. ‘One of they Frenchies, that’s what

I say—if it ain’t a ghost.’

‘A French ghost?’

‘Well, it ain’t a rat this time, Major, I can promise you that,’ Pottiswick had

rejoined, his tone affronted.

‘It had better not be, by God,’ had barked Captain Hilary Roding.

Gerald sympathised with his friend’s irritation. The last time Pottiswick had

called out the militia on suspicion of intruders in Remenham House, a large

rodent had been all the spoil. 

It had certainly caused some havoc in the

uninhabited mansion, chewing through Holland covers to get at the furniture

beneath, and knocking down a fire guard and a couple of wooden stands. Truth

to tell, more damage had been done in the enthusiastic chase carried out by the

militiamen detailed to catch it.

‘I never met a rat what wandered about the place with a lantern, I didn’t,’

grumbled the old lodgekeeper aggrievedly.

‘Did you see the man?’ Gerald asked.

‘No, but I seen the light, sir. Moving room to room it was.’ He added

pointedly, ‘Early this morning that were. I sent a message straight.’

‘We had other matters on hand this morning,’ Roding told him sharply.

Fiercely defensive, as usual. It both pleased and amused Gerald that Hilary

adhered rigidly to protocol before the men, no matter what he might say to his

major on other occasions. Besides, it was not the lodgekeeper’s business to know

that “other matters” included a reluctance on Gerald’s part to allow his little

company to conduct the search without him, and he’d had an engagement this

morning.

‘I suppose you think I can’t manage it myself,’ had complained Captain

Roding sarcastically.

‘Nothing of the sort,’ argued Gerald. ‘But on the off chance—slim, I grant you

—that there is a spy down there, I don’t want to miss the fun.’

The possibility was indeed remote, for there had been no trouble with France

since the Peace of Versailles had been signed six years ago. But the current

rumblings of internal discontent across the Channel were productive of unease in

certain quarters. Even an unlikely episode such as this could not be ignored.

Besides, Gerald would not for the world have passed up the chance of a little

excitement.

It seemed at this moment, however, that there was not going to be any “fun”,

and Captain Roding said so.

‘How disappointing,’ mourned Gerald. ‘Ah, well, we’ll check the back and

then go home.’

‘Don’t tell me,’ exploded his second-in-command. ‘I know you, Gerald. 

We

won’t drag you away until you’ve been through the place from top to bottom.’

Alderley laughed. ‘Just around it, Hilary, that’s all.’ He added on a teasing

note, ‘Though if there’s anything suspicious we can always get the key from

Pottiswick.’

Hilary Roding groaned, but obediently followed Gerald as he began to make

his way through the trees towards the back to a vantage point from where they

might examine the rear of Remenham House. One glance swept across the place

and it was immediately apparent that Pottiswick had not, this time, been

mistaken.

‘Aha,’ grunted Gerald with satisfaction, squinting up at the two open shutters

on the second floor. ‘A French rat with exceedingly long arms, I see.’

‘Gad, there is someone there,’ exclaimed Hilary beside him, shading his eyes

with one hand. The warm September sun fell strongly on this part of the

grounds, uninterrupted by trees, its light bouncing off the glass in the mansion’s

walls. He added succinctly, ‘Windows are open.’