The Rival Queens

The 17th century is limping slowly to a close, but Countess Ashby de la Zouche and her maid, the faithful Alpiew, are dashing around, plying their trade as scandal-mongers to only the finest London papers. Happily, scandals—goodness!—are falling in their laps like ripe plums. The best, of late, concern the ladies and gentlemen of the theatrical profession, who are thrilled whenever their names appear in print, and damn the context. But scandal—naughty, delicious, of little real weight—takes on some gravitas when the Countess and Alpiew are hired to solve the murder of a popular leading lady. And things get yet more serious when they stumble into a mess of corruption with connections to the very furthest reaches of Society.