Tuesday, November 22, 2016

An invitation to a duke’s wedding – and a giveaway!



You are cordially invited…..
The church is ready for decorating
Please allow me to introduce myself; I’m Althea Twyst, dowager duchess of Chellingworth, and I’m about to be known by another title, “mother of the groom”. Yes, I can hardly believe it, but my son is finally getting married. I had thought this day might never come, but, now it’s just a week away, I am beginning to believe it’s real. And about time, too!

Henry’s in his fifties, and I had feared he'd never get around to producing an heir, but he’s marrying a much younger woman – well, given my age (almost eighty) and hers (in her mid-thirties) I suppose I could call her a “girl”, but that seems a little disrespectful of a young woman who’s made her own way in the world, building a solid reputation as a public relations professional. She’s been the PR manager here at Chellingworth Hall for a few years, and has made some changes which mean it’s now a little easier for Henry to cover the exorbitant costs of upkeep for the place. Given that some parts of the hall were built back in the early 1500’s you can imagine how costly it is to keep everything in tip top condition.The church where the wedding will take place is of the same vintage, and it's been given a good cleaning, in readiness for the ceremony.
"Modernised" in the thirteenth century

But now we can all forget about that for a while, and concentrate on celebrating a ducal wedding. The ceremony will take place at St. David’s Church in the village of Anwen-by-Wye, then the happy couple and hundreds of guests will be led along a winding pathway by a troupe of Morris Dancers for about a mile, until they reach the hall itself. Henry thinks this is all a bit much, but I’ve told him – at his age – he needs every bit of help he can get to ensure his is a fruitful marriage, and Morris Dancers have led every duke and duchess of Chellingworth in this way for hundreds of years, so we don’t want to tempt fate.
Morris Dancers in action

Welshcakes and daffodils, ready for the guests
The entire village will attend, of course. I know there are plans afoot for the Young Wives’ group to make hundreds of Welshcakes for the reception, and Stephanie – that’s the name of my future daughter-in-law, and the next duchess of Chellingworth (thank goodness she isn’t named Kylie or something modern like that!) – has been working to ensure there’ll be thousands of daffodils in the church on the big day. A nice touch, I think, given that the event takes place on St. David’s Day, March 1st.

The plans seem to be well in hand…now all we can hope is that nothing goes wrong at the last minute.



Find out how the disappearance of a critical member of the Morris Dancing troupe threatens the wedding plans – and how the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency have to come to the rescue. THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER is the second in the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries' series and is available NOW! 

Leave a comment below with your email address BEFORE MIDNIGHT EASTERN ON WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23RD to have a chance to win a signed copy! USA and Canada only

Cathy Ace writes the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (book #2 THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER was published in paperback on November 1st in the US/Canada), and the Cait Morgan Mysteries. Find out more about Cathy and her work, and sign up for her newsletter at http://cathyace.com/  
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125 comments:

  1. Patricia P.November 22, 2016 at 1:00 AM

    I love all of the books by Cathy Ace.Would like to win a copy of The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer. Those Welsh cakes look good. [email protected]

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    1. Cathy AceNovember 22, 2016 at 10:23 AM

      So pleased you like my books, Patricia P....and I can tell you the Welshcakes tasted lovely ;-)

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