Troublesome Woman (PDF)

A troublesome woman indeed - but which woman is the most troublesome? Libby Wright is facing two court cases, both involving her older sister, "e;Mad"e; Maddie. The discovery that their Victorian ancestress, Decima Watkins, who was hanged for murder, was not only innocent but also secretly married to, and had a son by, the heir to the local stately home, has prompted a legal battle between the powerful and rich Allingham clan and Maddie, who sees herself as the true owner of Havering Hall. However Maddie is also facing the prospect of being jailed for "e;kneecapping"e; Brendan Tulliver, an obsessed stalker who was trying to kill her sister.Libby desperately needs something to occupy her whilst she waits for the British legal system to grind on, so she begins to investigate the detective who tried, and failed, to save Decima from the hangman. Inspector Lazarus, it seems, also had more than his fair share of troublesome women. Young Arabella Allingham had a runaway romance with a fortune hunter, who intends to blackmail her father, but this is eclipsed by a series of murders and Lazarus is forced to accept the help ofConstance, another member of the despised Allingham family, to find Arabella and gain access to the local gentry in order to try and discover the identity of the killer. With at least four troublesome women in the mix, will the secrets of the past ultimately help to solve the problems of the present?