London's Calling

English Three, #2

Wanted for murder, with a missing alibi, what's an out-of-work burlesque dancer to do?

A burlesque dancer at London's exclusive Miss Merriweather's, Delilah Knightly is abruptly fired after her costume falls apart twenty feet above the stage. Minutes after she packs her trunk and flounces out, her boss is murdered. Delilah's only alibi, a handsome stranger she fell over in an alleyway, vanishes. When she returns to speak with club's owner, Delilah is hauled away by the police. Confused and hopeless, she must sit in her dingy cell until Jillian Johnsworth, the owner of Merriweather's, vouches to keep her until trial.

At Ms. Johnsworth's estate outside London, Delilah is introduced to peculiar workings London Society's strict protocols would never sanction. Amidst the secrets, the group of women and their male counterparts show her a life she never would have experienced elsewhere. With them she finds adventure, love, laughter, and something she has never truly dared hope for: family.

If they can find that pesky missing stranger with the stark gray eyes and flush out the real murderer, all just might fit into place.

WARNING: Sex and Violence, Random acts of dry wit.

58,000 Words