Cecily

by Alida Leacroft

Wicked uncles, abductions, courage and romance…
Her father lost at sea, under seemingly scandalous circumstances, Miss Cecily Winiard is brought to the northern Spa town of Harrogate, to make her come-out under the aegis of her great aunt. Her family are in dire straits, and she must make an advantageous marriage. Except… her great aunt’s ideas of an advantageous marriage and Cecily’s do not run in tandem. Her great aunt wants birth and breeding, and certainly no-one with an interest in vulgar commerce. Young Lord Coleford, is, as far as her great aunt is concerned, a vulgar Cit and entirely unworthy to even breathe the same air as a Winiard, let alone have further pretentions. It’s a trifle awkward that Cecily likes him. It’s even more awkward that she, on the instructions of great aunt, snubbed the eligible young man severely. That is not something he’s accustomed to. He’d come to Harrogate expecting to be bored, not to be treated like a hatstand.
And stalking behind the gaiety and social whirl, there lurks the scandal of her father’s disappearance, and the plots that surround it.

310 pages, Paperback

Published June 10, 2024

Reviews

[Carbonel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun - a regency adventure

True love, intrigue, and humor in a delightful Harrowgate escapade set in the Regency world popularized by Georgette Heyer. This is the second book by Miss Leacroft, and is even more fun than the first. They satisfy both as romances, and as light adventure stories

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impoverished Cecily is being brought by her great-aunt to Harrogate, a spa town, in hopes she will make a good match, in best Regency style. Meanwhile, Alfred, Lord Coleford, is trying to find out information about something the Navy is doing -- and goes to visit his mother in Harrogate.

They meet under the guidance of his sister, and Cecily mistakenly snubs him under the impression that he's someone her great-aunt told her not to dance with. The story goes on with wicked uncles, his realizing she doesn't know who he is, an inheritance, wills, dances, an old man who knows a great many things, discussions of Oxford, and more.