Nancy Atherton - Aunt Dimity and the Duke

“Yes, sir,” said Teddy. “Never heard it told like that afore. Said it ’minded her of you and Miss Kate, sir, you bein’ the duke’s son and Miss Kate the village lass.”

“Is that so?” Grayson and the small boy slowly faced one another. “And how did the story make you feel?”

“Can’t hardly say, sir.”

“A bit dizzy?” the duke suggested. “But in a nice sort of way?”

The boy nodded. “That’s it, sir.”

The duke blinked rapidly, then pointed down at the cashmere blanket. “You stay here until the coast is clear,” he said. He waited until Teddy had seated himself cross-legged on the blanket, then stood, staring once more at the castle entrance.

“You’re being very mysterious, Grayson,” Emma chided.

Derek’s eyes narrowed as Grayson began to walk away. “What’s up, old man?”

The duke paused. “Emma, Derek, dearest friends, if you’ll excuse me, I—I believe there’s someone waiting for me in the chapel.” Looking every bit as dazed as Teddy Tregallis, the duke performed a courteous half-bow, then turned and broke into a run.

Nell’s Strawberry Tarts

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Pastry shells

8 3½-inch tart tins,

greased

3½-inch fluted pastry

cutter

¾ cup flour

pinch of salt

¼ cup superfine sugar

4 tablespoons butter

2 egg yolks

Makes 8 tarts

Filling

1 medium egg

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons flour cup cold milk cup heavy cream

1 pound strawberries

4 tablespoons seedless

strawberry jelly

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon shredded

coconut

Pastry Shells

Sift flour and salt onto work surface. Make a well in the center; add sugar, butter, and egg yolks; work them together until all the flour is worked in. Add a few drops of water if necessary to bind the mixture. Knead until smooth, then wrap in foil and refrigerate for one hour.

Roll out on lightly floured surface. Use pastry cutter to cut out eight circles. Arrange these in the pastry tins. Bake for 20 minutes at 375°, until pale gold. Turn out to cool.

Filling

Cream egg and sugar, add flour, and stir to a paste with a few drops of the cold milk. Warm the rest of the milk, then slowly stir it into the egg mixture. Slowly heat mixture until it boils, then cook it for a few more minutes. Remove from heat; allow to cool. Whip the cream until stiff, then beat it into the cooled mixture. Spoon a generous portion of cream mixture into each of the pastry shells.

In the center of each tart, plant a whole hulled strawberry, point upward. Hull and halve the rest of the strawberries and arrange the halves around the whole strawberry to cover the rest of the filling. Heat the jelly with the water and use it to paint the strawberries, then sprinkle with coconut.

FORTHE BEST IN MYSTERIES, LOOK FOR THE

The castles and cottages of the English countryside can hide dark, chilling secrets, but the spirit of Aunt Dimity ensures that each mystery will have a happy, if unexpected, ending.

Aunt Dimity’s Death

Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was just a character in a bedtime story, until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis summons her to a reading of the woman’s will. Down-on-her-luck Lori learns she’s about to inherit a sizable estate—if she can discover the secret hidden in Dimity’s English country cottage.

ISBN 0-14-017840-6

Aunt Dimity and the Duke

Directed to Penford Hall, Emma Porter, forty, fat, and frumpy, is confronted with an eccentric duke and a mysteriously close-mouthed staff. In the face of harrowing events, Emma needs Aunt Dimity’s ghostly guidance to solve the mysteries and to learn to love again. ISBN 0-14-017841-4

Aunt Dimity’s Good Deed

Thanks to Aunt Dimity, Lori Shepherd is now happily married to her very own Prince Charming, Bill Willis. But when a second honeymoon turns into a backroads search for her missing father-in-law, Lori gets lost among all the centuries-old Willis family scandals she uncovers, and needs Aunt Dimity’s ghostly guidance to find her way back to the comforts of home. ISBN 0-14-025881-7

Aunt Dimity Digs In

Once again Aunt Dimity’s spirit returns to aid the residents of Finch. While Lori Shepherd is busy caring for her twins with the help of a beautiful Italian nanny, the town is thrown into a frenzy by a visiting archaeologist intent on digging up more than just artifacts. Dimity’s magic blue notebook provides the key to the buried secrets. ISBN 0-14-027569-X

Aunt Dimity’s Christmas

Lori Shepherd can hardly wait to celebrate Christmas this year with her family until she discovers the body of a mysterious stranger beneath her lilac bushes. Lori teams up with Julian Bright to unveil the tragic secret that led the stranger to her door, and must confront painful truths about herself and the true meaning of a perfect family Christmas. ISBN 0-14-029630-1

Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil

With rain crashing down on her Range Rover as it climbs up a steep embankment on the Northumberland moors, Lori Shepherd is beginning to doubt the wisdom of her decision to evaluate a rare book collection at Wyrdhurst Hall. It will take all of Dimity’s supernatural skills to help Lori solve the puzzle and restore peace to a family haunted by its tragic past. ISBN 0-14-100219-0

Aunt Dimity: Detective

Nobody in the little town of Finch was really surprised when Prunella “Pruneface” Hooper came to a nasty end—but murder? With the help of the ghostly Aunt Dimity and Nicholas, the enigmatic (and charming!) self-defense instructor, Lori unravels this delightfully tangled and gossip-filled whodunit.

ISBN 0-14-200154-6

Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday

Burning topiaries, threatening notes, suspicious maids, and family intrigue at a lush English country estate lead Lori to seek her phantom aunt’s help in identifying the culprit before he or she can torch the whole house and its guests within. Atherton’s signature whimsy and splendidly original twists make for yet one more delicious adventure with cozy mystery lovers’ favorite supernatural sleuth.

ISBN 0-14-200393-X

Aunt Dimity: Snowbound

A pleasant woodland stroll turns treacherous when the blizzard of the century crosses Lori Shepherd’s path, forcing her to seek shelter in Ladythorne Abbey. Once the home of the late, mysterious, madwoman Lucasta DeClerke, the abbey’s cloisters and corridors are still haunted by her lingering presence. “Old sins cast long shadows,” Aunt Dimity tells Lori, who will need all of Aunt Dimity’s wisdom and compassion to banish the shadows of hatred and guilt that shroud Ladythorne Abbey. ISBN 0-14-303458-8

Look for the newest exciting installment of

the Aunt Dimity Series in hardcover from Viking:

Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin