In Cordelia Darcy, Shelia Walsh has created one of her most delightful heroines ever. From a modest colonial background in America, she arrives in Regency London during the autumn of 1811 and makes it her stage. Before ever she steps foot in London though, Cordelia has already become part of a dangerous diplomatic intrigue as the result of her shipboard encounter with a fellow American: Drew Harvey. Working to secure peace between England and America, Mr Harvey enlists Cordelia's help as a courier - thereby drawing her into the sights of his own very determined enemies. Despite these shadows playing around her, Cordelia Darcy's first London Season is a resounding success - as if in tribute to the godmother whose bequest made it possible. And for all that she stands at the heart of a conspiracy that gathers force daily, Cordelia's story is also one of a beautiful young girl entering Society, falling in love for the first time and learning to identify her own feelings. With her use of period detail providing a sumptuous Regency backcloth throughout, Shelia Walsh combines each separate thread of Lady Aurelia's Bequest into a first class romantic thriller.