Page 26 of One Night of Scandal (Fairleigh Sisters #2)

From the society page of The Times, London, May 26, 1831:

Lady Allegra Oakleigh, the lovely young offspring of one of our fair city’s most respected citizens, made her debut into society tonight at the home of the infamous Devil of Devonbrooke. She began the evening with a performance of Beethoven’s “Tempest”

on the pianoforte. When the guests, which included the king, were stunned into silence by her brilliance, her proud papa leapt to his feet, shouting.

“Bravo! Bravo!,”

then proceeded to lead the crowd in a round of thunderous applause.

Her delighted stepmother, renowned author of Lord Death’s Bride and My Darling Bluebeard, rarely left her husband’s arms during the dizzying round of waltzes and quadrilles. When asked what she was working on next, she simply beamed up at her doting husband and replied.

“A Happy Ending.”