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One man with a secret. A family torn apart by the consequences.

Mr Kent Atherton isn’t too worried about the sudden discovery that his parents’ marriage was invalid and he is illegitimate — he loves machinery of all types, so what would be more perfect than a career as an engineer? The industrial future is so much more interesting than the traditions of the past. But the son of an earl isn’t supposed to work in trade, and besides, he’s loyalty-bound to support his brother’s little enterprise. Will he ever escape his family’s hold on him?

Miss Katherine Parish has been orphaned and left penniless. Happily, her aunt has given her a home, but she moves in much higher circles than Katherine is used to. How can the daughter of a mill owner mingle with the Earl of Rennington and his family? But the perpetually cheerful Kent Atherton lifts her out of her gloom, and even gives her hope of a happy future together, until she discovers a shocking secret about him…

This is a complete story with a happy ever after. A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom. Book 5 of a 6 book series.

364 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2025

170 people are currently reading
52 people want to read

About the author

Mary Kingswood

68 books479 followers
I live in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland with my husband. I like chocolate, whisky, my Kindle, massed pipe bands, long leisurely lunches, chocolate, going places in my campervan, eating pizza in Italy, summer nights that never get dark, wood fires in winter, chocolate, the view from the study window looking out over the Moray Firth and the Black Isle to the mountains beyond. And chocolate. I dislike driving on motorways, cooking, shopping, hospitals.

The lovely lady in my avatar is Archduchess Clementina of Austria (1798-1881), Princess of Salerno, painted around 1839.

NOTE: I read Regency romances as well as write them, and I review them all on my website, or you can find them right here on Goodreads on my real-name account at Pauline M. Ross.

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5 stars
371 (63%)
4 stars
164 (28%)
3 stars
39 (6%)
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6 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for Paulette.
613 reviews13 followers
June 8, 2025
Mary Kingswood's Regencies are always readable, relaxing and pleasant, a welcome respite from thrillers, mysteries and other more intense genres. I enjoyed the story and characters but I have a real gripe about how abruptly it ended, hence the 3 star rating. It just....stopped. I understand that there's a book 6 in the series which answers all the questions about the chaplain's murder but surely there is a better way to set up the next book.
Profile Image for Diane Shearer.
1,188 reviews10 followers
May 18, 2025
Mary Kingswood is in my top three favorite romance writers list. I must admit I’m not enjoying this series as much as I have her others. But I did enjoy this book more than the last two. I really like Kent Atherton, and I admire Katherine a great deal. It’s a story of how the love of a good woman makes him a better man. There is a lot of humor and some really lovely scenes. The mystery is really heating up, and she leaves us with a dreadful cliffhanger. I think the last book is going to be nuts with so many loose ends to tie up. I’m as anxious as Captain Edgerton to find out what really happened and why. Thankfully, MK never keeps us waiting long.
Profile Image for Monica .
29 reviews24 followers
September 4, 2025
Kent and Katherine were a breath of fresh air after some of the more ill-tempered protagonists in the last couple of books (especially Izzy, she was…intense). They were sweet; and had complementary quirks, charms, and foibles to their personalities.

It takes about half the book to get back to the overarching mystery, but when it gets going—it really gets going!

Well worth the read, even if you hadn’t been feeling the last couple of books.
Profile Image for Jane Porter.
Author 617 books2,054 followers
May 22, 2025
A Fantastic Page Turner

I couldn’t read this one fast enough. Truly enjoyed it. Wonderful characters, terrific plot, and smart pacing. One of my favorite Kingswood novels. 5 stars!
11 reviews
May 26, 2025
As well written as ever, but……

I found this novel to be as well written as all Mary Kingswood’s, but must admit that I found the “heroine” of this one (Kathryn/Katy) to be a prosy, sanctimonious prig. I found it very hard to believe that the “hero” would fall in love with her. I am looking forward to the resolution of who killed the (fake!) parson, in the final book of this series, though.
Profile Image for Elizabeth S.
766 reviews16 followers
August 17, 2025
Oh, no! A cliffhanger! I don't remember a cliffhanger in any of her other books, and I've read them all. A mystery to be solved in the last book of each series, yes, but nothing like this.

Katherine Parish, orphaned at her mill-owner father's death, is invited to live with her mother's sister's family, the Cathcarts. She feels terribly out of place in this gentrified society. Kent Atherton is the Earl of Rennington's third son. He's at loose ends, especially since the family discovered that the murdered chaplain who married his parents was not ordained, making all of their children illegitimate. He yearns to find a calling, to make his own way in the world. He is especially fascinated with machines, and longs to see them, learn how they function, and work with them, if possible. His father resists this passion of Kent's, wanting him to stay in the home and telling him that gentlemen do not do that sort of work. Katherine was filled with the kind of knowledge Kent craved, and this, plus his good nature and cheerful manner, attracted them to each other. They are both easy to love, even when Katherine goes a bit over the top with her zealotry. In previous books, we had to learn to like Izzy and Bea Franklyn, who were not especially likable to begin with. (I still didn't warm to Izzy.) But with Katherine, we're cheering for the underdog.

Amusing secondary characters, like Mrs. Vance, from the mill town where Katherine had lived until her father's death, and Mrs. Ryker, to whom she was sent to be a companion, add interest, humor, and danger to the plot.

Captain Edgerton and his crew continue trying to unravel the mystery of the chaplain's death. Not only have they made little progress, but the whole investigation is made more complicated by the death of Miss Peach and the shocking event at the end of this book. The final book of the series will bring everything together, but we'll have to wait for Ambition to be released in September.

There are many characters in Mary Kingswood's books. She provides some helpful family trees on her website, in order to remember them all, as well as a summary at the beginning of the book of the pertinent characters. It isn't unusual to find names from previous series, and it's best to read the series in order.

174 reviews3 followers
May 10, 2025
The different books of the Chaplain’s legacy series have been slightly uneven. Some were better then others but I am pleased to be able to report that, to my mind anyway, this latest episode Loyalty is very enjoyable. One has to admire the skill with which Mary Kingswood weaves in elements of the events of the previous books without being too didactic. A person reading the books back to back would not feel they were told the same thing several times, and yet enough information is given to make it a truly standalone novel.
Of course, despite my reservations about some of the previous books, reading them in order of publication is highly recommended as we can see the full extent of the story which is unfolding.
Loyalty focuses on Kent, the Earl of Rennington’s third son and on Miss Katherine Parish, an orphan staying with her aunt and uncle, the Cathcarts. Captain Egerton and his friends continue to discover who might have murdered the Chaplain. They figure more prominently than in other books but are not able to solve the mystery yet. I thought the Captain had lost some of his ebullient energy here, possibly because he does not seem able to move his enquiry forward.
Perhaps more might have been made of the money stolen by the Chaplain and recovered by the detective team in a previous book. It is just mentioned as a rather insignificant fact. Likewise, nothing is said of the Chaplain’s daughter Tess. I expect all this will come full circle in the last book in the series which will focus on Kent’s younger sister Olivia …and on finally solving the mystery
The main characters are very likeable and it’s difficult not to side with Kent and his interests for steam powered machines. Maybe some will find him weak, unable to make decisions, but I did not and thought his low key courtship with Katherine rather endearing.
A part from the 2 main characters, Aunt Cathcart, Mrs Vance from Katherine’s cotton mill town and the over talkative lady who needed a companion provide very funny cameos.
So all in all, I really enjoyed this book which I highly recommend and which was given to me as an ARC, a pre-release copy, for which I am delighted to leave a review voluntarily. All opinions are my own. I eagerly await the last book in the series: Ambition
246 reviews4 followers
May 18, 2025
clean and Keeps you on your toes

I always love Mary Kingswood's stories. She weaves a fabulous mystery with romantic sub plots, it's great. Not too many repetitive thoughts re-hashed, solid characters with depth and fun dialog.

I wasnt in love with Katy's pious attitude, I'm very religious, but I don't like piety and she had a lot of it. And she wasn't a parson's daughter even. That piety didn't feel like it meshed with Kent's personality. On either side. As pious as she was, she shouldn't have even looked at Kent, who didn't go to church other than for special occasions. I wish she was God fearing without the piety. But aside from that the story was great and it totally left you hanging.

Why didn't Edgerton catch the governess' looking for the saddle, he still was suspecting Kent, but Kent would not have needed a saddle to ride away after killing the chaplain since he was in the house still just after the murder. That was obvious to me, so Edgerton should have immediately caught at that. The governess'had always been watching Eustace's home, not Kent's.

Now I have to wait 4 months for the final book. I can't believe it has been 2 years since the first book came out. I hate waiting, I forget too much of the story details, I wish the author's could just wait and release all books at once. But I don't like show episodes either, I usually wait and watch them all at once. I can't seem do that with Ms Kingswood books unfortunately she writes too well.
96 reviews
May 15, 2025
The latest gripping instalment in The Chaplain’s Legacy. Although this is a series each book tells the story of one of the Earls children finding their HEA as well as the ongoing investigation into the Chaplain’s murder. This is Kent the youngest son’s story. He has always been interested in engineering and would love to have a career as an engineer but because he feels he needs to be there for his father at this difficult time he has not pursued it. He meets Katherine who has come to live with her aunt and uncle after losing her father who was a mill owner. She feels out of place mixing with people from a higher circle and it makes her really shy and insecure. Kent draws her out and their interest in industry forms the basis of their romance.
The murder investigation takes a back seat while the initial romance of Kent and Katherine takes place and then suddenly there are new developments and it becomes centre stage again and reaches a nail biting conclusion. I have absolutely no idea as to who the murderer is and I’am really looking forward to the final book in the series.
Other members of the family feature throughout the story and it’s really helpful to have the index of Principal Characters at the beginning to remind you of who is who. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it. I was sent an arc copy of the book and I voluntarily leave this review.
Profile Image for Robynsview.
19 reviews1 follower
May 12, 2025
“Loyalty” is the 5th in Mary Kingswood’s “Chaplain” series and I have thoroughly enjoyed the return to Corland Castle, the seat of the Earl of Rennington, and the ongoing mystery of the murder of the devious chaplain Mr Nicholson, the earl’s brother-in-law. As usual, Mary Kingswood author manages to entwine the slow courtship of kind Kent Atherton and shy orphaned Katherine with the murder mystery in a very satisfying way. Kent and Katherine are an appealing couple and all the supporting characters are well fleshed out. It is always fun to find the repeat characters of Michael Pickering and his associates in the book, and they play a major role in this episode as we get closer to the unmasking of a murderer.
I’ve been a fan of Mary Kingswood’s books since stumbling upon her “Stranger” series a few years ago. Her mix of romance and mystery is always entertaining. This latest does not disappoint. I look forward to the 6th and final book in the series.
I received an ARC pre-release copy of the book and submit my review voluntarily.
2,367 reviews6 followers
May 8, 2025
Katy after losing her father is taken in by her uncle. As she is of a shy nature this change to a new home with a larger family along with meeting an Earl and his family makes her feel out of place. During this time she meets Kent, youngest son of the Earl. He and his family have their own issues that all of them are dealing with. Ongoing changes are happening for Katy and Kent individually and there are surprises for both of them along the way. Meanwhile there is a further obstacle occurring in the ongoing murder investigation of the chaplain. The end brings us both Kent and Katy’s hea, further love connections with his brother and cousin, and more insight insight in the ongoing murder investigation. I am posting this review as an arc reader and this is my personal review of this book.
Profile Image for Rachel.
5 reviews
May 10, 2025
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of Loyalty (though I have it on pre-order anyway). Mary Kingswood has been one of my few auto-buy authors since I discovered her some years ago, and she has yet to disappoint.

Easy to read in style, yet never simple or straightforward in story, I enjoy the twists and surprises that build on each other as each book and series progresses, and also the growing relationships between the people and families we get to know and love.

With Loyalty, we are almost at an end of this tale, but yet again, whilst we may think we've beaten the intrepid investigators, who are enjoyable recurring characters over multiple series, and worked out what's happening, there is always another twist to make us stop and think again. I'm looking foward to the grand finale - I'm sure I've got it wrong, but that's half the fun.
5 reviews
May 19, 2025
One of Ms Kingswood's best series yet. Her books are always thoughtful well edited, and realistic.

She recognizes there were only 27 dukes in England at the time and the overwhelming majority were old, married or too young to be the love interest. And her dropping of clues during a series keeps one coming back. She is my favourite author of this genre and I can't recommend her highly enough.
149 reviews
June 24, 2025
GADZOOKS, what a place to end!

SPOILERS Ok, I just have to say, despite the enjoyment of reading a book that doesn’t involve strange, Asian sextronics, or fantasy, elvish/Fae shenanigans, I feel like this tongue-tied, awkward woman WAS a prosy bore or whatever Kent shouted to her in extremis…. But, just like her slightly beleaguered family, her near miraculous Trust Fund made it seem not so bad to me that she nabbed our happy, sunny boy.
Profile Image for Laurie.
957 reviews4 followers
September 9, 2025
An agreeable regency mystery, with smuggling, prostitution, murder, class conflict, religion. A young woman who never quite settles. She falls in love with an aristocrat who isn't quite sure he wants to marry her. She isn't quite sure he is religious enough for her. But of course it all works out. The only thing left to be worked out in the final volume of the series is who killed the chaplain.
5 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2025
I can’t put these books down!!

Mary Kingswood is excellent author. This is bk 5 in this series. I’ve read every series she’s written & they all have several interesting, realistic, characters whose stories are intertwined. All the plots & people are so believable, they leave you guessing & are very hard to put down.
Profile Image for Diane.
356 reviews3 followers
May 19, 2025
So surprising!

I have been surprised repeatedly in this series by the plot twists and Loyalty is ever more startling. When I read a mystery I try not to determine the identity or motive of the murderer. I enjoy being misled, redirected, and confused. All part of the fun! This book is a great addition to the series and I am eagerly awaiting Ambition.
Profile Image for Rachel Keith.
60 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2025
Hmm.
Things I loved: the mystery. The dark curtain movements. Kent. The complexity of familial relationships.
Things I didn’t love: Katherine’s internal motivational arch. I feel like we got amazing detail about Katherine’s neighborhood. In the last chapters I really felt like I understood Branton, all of its inhabitants, the way the community fit together, and I want another book just about this location. Maybe it gets its own series. But I didn’t understand why Kate was so muted. After leaving town she was a just go with the flow gal. In the early parts we understood she was industrial, the runner of the home, in the knowledge of the mill and its making. Highly communally focused. And then she just…. Got Muted. I didn’t understand that. I feel like we learned more about Kent and his motivations in life than Kate. The last few chapters moved at the speed of lightning. The brother, the reunion, and then the wedding scene.
The story telling really is excellent. The cliffhanger at the end was soooo not expected and quite a fun change of pace for Kingswood. But this book overall left me feeling… flat?
I’m of course waiting anxiously for September to be here so we can finally find out whodunnit.
64 reviews
May 18, 2025
Losing my interest

I enjoyed the first couple books in this series, but now I'm just bored. Too much of this book was simply a repeat of the prior stories, and the new romance wasn't interesting. And it just drags. I no longer care who is the murderer, or why.
2 reviews
May 20, 2025
books

Hello I have read all your series of books, and thoroughly enjoyed them, romance, elegance, mystery, and a little frivolity, what more is needed in my reading escapism.
Thank you.
1 review
May 21, 2025
love this writer

This book is only half a book. It ends suddenly with no resolution of several threads in the story. It was if the editor said we must publish today and the author put down her pen.
We need a beginning, a middle, and most relevantly, an end.
Very unsatisfying.
Profile Image for Scout.
343 reviews1 follower
May 22, 2025
One step closer to finding the person who has murdered two people. Up until this book, it has been very murky. Things are becoming clearer but unfortunately Miss Peach has fallen victim to the murderer.
51 reviews1 follower
May 24, 2025
What a cliffhanger ending!!

I enjoyed this installment of The Chaplain’s Legacy, especially the gradual development of Katherine’s character. The more I learned about the Atherton and Cathcart families, the more interesting they became! Captain Edgerton still has his work cut out for him, and I can’t wait to read about his discoveries in the final book!!
Profile Image for Roseann White.
72 reviews1 follower
May 23, 2025
Who is the murderer?

I just love Ms. Kingswood books! She is a great author and this book didn't disappoint I can't wait for the next book to see who the killer is and why I love how she has includes past characters into her series.
Profile Image for Fiona.
669 reviews7 followers
May 25, 2025
Completely captivating!

This tale had me hooked right from the start. I loved the characters (especially Kent), the intrigue and the suspense. I can’t wait to read the finale of this fabulous series!
Profile Image for Tiffany.
1,534 reviews14 followers
May 25, 2025
Kisses only.

This ends in a cliffhanger!!! Agh I was loving the book the MCs are relatable, the mystery is being worked out, a HEA is set up and then something dramatic happens and it ends! Can’t wait for the last book.
220 reviews2 followers
June 16, 2025
Great

I can hardly wait for the next book. I want to know whodunit!! I have loved all the Mary Kingswood books. This ends on a cliff hanger, so be warned, but I still love the book.
Profile Image for Margo.
778 reviews6 followers
November 30, 2025
(My 4 stars is probably your 5.) Unable to review timely. I waited for the series to be complete before starting in on them, because I love Kingswood's writing and I knew I'd be gobbling them up. Complex stories and interesting characters. (The chaplain didn't leave a legacy, he left chaos!)
Profile Image for Penny Hampson.
Author 13 books66 followers
December 17, 2025
Another charming story from Mary Kingswood. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance between Kent and Katherine and the continuing puzzle of the Chaplain's murder. I'm looking forward to the next and final book in the series.
32 reviews
May 18, 2025
Another brilliant novel in this gripping series! Well done Mary - so looking forward to the final novel! 👏
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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