Practical vows are spoken under suspiciously cooperative weather, and society’s letters arrive to protest that competence has been allowed a coronet. Chapter 17 of A Courteous Murder at Larkspur Hall. https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Chapter 16 of A Courteous Murder at Larkspur Hall. Ashford makes the engagement official in a room full of witnesses, and Cecilia keeps her keys where they belong. When Lady Rosamund’s necklace goes missing, the house learns what it feels like to be searched by someone who values method over manners. https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Chapter 15. The papers print what Larkspur tried to bury, and Ashford attempts the most perilous negotiation of all: asking Cecilia Arden to marry him on terms that keep the house, and him, honest.

https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Chapter 14 of A Courteous Murder at Larkspur Hall. Brackley is marched off to account for himself, the house exhales, and Cecilia audits the viscount’s conscience while Ashford tries to choose honesty over upholstery.

https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Chapter 13 of A Courteous Murder at Larkspur Hall: the study fills, the ledger opens, and a man who thought he could adjust a life the way he adjusts a column is forced to speak plainly. Full chapter reading, followed by my entirely necessary remarks. https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

The road softens, the house brightens, and someone decides laudanum is a polite way to make a point at dinner, which is exactly the sort of politeness that gets people buried. Cecilia watches hands, quarantines wine, and begins to suspect the most boring menace of all, the man who keeps the keys and the sums.

https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Cecilia Arden stages a bold little spectacle, a sealed packet, a snowy ride, and the certainty that someone will panic before noon. What follows is sabotage in the stable, smeared wax in a gloved hand, and a tightening circle of suspects who would prefer the valley to stay closed. https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Snow keeps the guests of Larkspur Hall politely imprisoned, so Lord Ashford announces rules, suspects, and a ban on wandering staircases, while Cecilia Arden tests a clergyman’s conscience and learns how quickly evidence can walk.

Chapter 10 of A Courteous Murder at Larkspur Hall.

https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Snow has everyone trapped at Larkspur Hall, so Cecilia Arden does what any sensible woman does, she compares ledgers with Miss Honora and tries to keep the library from catching fire.

Instead, the house offers a falling shelf, a shattered marble ship, and the first unmistakable proof that someone has been loosening screws on purpose.

https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content

Snow keeps Larkspur Hall politely locked, so the guests do what people always do when trapped: demand breakfast, explanations, and someone else to blame.

Sir Alastair insists on inspecting the ledgers, Fairne goes rummaging for drama, and Cecilia uncovers a letter that was hidden too carefully to be harmless.

The watch is tightened, the corridors stay untrustworthy, and someone in the house realises their freedom is shrinking.

https://www.marisapaxon.com/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/marisapaxon/exclusive-content