I read “The Orchid Affair” from (Pink Carnation) by Lauren Willig many months ago (in February) and just last week finished “Away in a Manger: A Very Turnip Wedding Night” and “Ivy & Intrigue” as two ebooks.
Chronically, “Ivy & Intrigue” happens at the same time as “The Mischief of the Mistletoe” at Christmas. It is Amy and Richard’s first Christmas together at Richard’s ancestral home. Richard is retired as Purple Gentian and with the help of Amy is running his spy school. The Christmas party at his parents state is a shock to him and Amy both since Richard’s old flame turns up to be as lovely as ever. As Amy starts to become suspicious and jealous, it is up to Jane, Richard, Miles and Henrietta to find out why the foxy Lady Gerard is trying to endear herself to Richard again. In this story we hear about Miss. Gray for the first time.
“Away in a Manger: A Very Turnip Wedding Night” happens right after “The Mischief of the Mistletoe” and before New Year. Turnip and Arabella are married and are headed toward Turnip’s country house when a snow blizzard causes them to lose their way and spend their wedding night in a barn. Suffice to say, it takes them three days to travel a fifteen mile distant!
In “The Orchid Affair”, we learn more about Miss Gray. She is the first graduate of Purple Gentian spy school and is sent to Paris to spy on a French high official. As she plays the role of a teacher to his children, she discovers secrets and starts to fall in love with the children in her charge. What she is not expecting is her reaction to children’s father!
What I love about the Pink Carnation series aside from intriguing espionage and politics (which involves my favorite era of French history) is the narration and the mix of present and past. The way Eloise and her PhD research and love life are woven into her topic and the lives and affairs of her research subjects. I love the clever way of storytelling in this series.
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