Tasha Alexander
A Fatal Waltz
For Anastasia Sertl,
Who I wish was here to see it
Anybody can be good in the country.
There are no temptations there.
Cast of Characters
Emily, Lady Ashton (Kallista): daughter of Earl Bromley, widow of the Viscount Ashton (Philip), and a scholar of Greek language and art.
Colin Hargreaves: a gentleman of independent means who is frequently called upon by Buckingham Palace to investigate matters requiring discretion.
Cécile du Lac: a French woman of a certain age, iconoclast, patron of the arts.
Ivy Brandon: Emily's childhood friend, a perfect English rose.
Robert Brandon: Ivy's husband, an up-and-coming politician and very traditional gentleman.
Margaret Seward: daughter of an American railroad tycoon, she is a Bryn Mawr-educated Latinist who has little tolerance for society's rules.
Catherine, Lady Bromley: Emily's mother, wife of Earl Bromley, former lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria.
Jeremy Sheffield, Duke of Bainbridge: childhood friend of Emily's whose twin goals are to avoid marriage and to be the most useless man in England.
Basil, Lord Fortescue: Queen Victoria's most trusted political advisor, widely considered the most powerful man in the empire.
Mrs. Reynold-Plympton: a lady who takes great interest in politics; Lord Fortescue's longtime mistress.
Mary Fortescue: Lord Fortescue's third wife.