The Poor Relation

What do you do if you are of noble stock, but impoverished, and living in London with a certain style to maintain? One has to work... but One's relatives will be appalled when One turns One's hand to trade - and opens a hotel, The Poor Relation, offering employment to others of the same social standing and in the same awkward situation. This is precisely what Mrs Fortescue decides upon and, together with friend Colonel Sandhurst, transforms her decrepit Bond Street home into a posh hotel, offering guests the pleasure of being waited upon by the nobility.

The poor relations banded together some time ago to run The Poor Relation Hotel in the hope their embarrassed relatives would buy them out, but as the hotel prospered, so they began to enjoy the fruit of their labour. But once again they need money to go on and so poor, faded Miss Tonks is dispatched to her rich sister to steal something valuable from her in order to keep the hotel on its feet.

Cut off by her own relations, pretty, dainty widow Eliza Budley must visit some other family manor to purloin expensive baubles. Happily, the rich Marquess of Peterhouse is in his dotage and wouldn't know a relative from a bedpost, so Eliza is sent to play the imposter. But things do not go as planned and Eliza is met by the new Marquess - wickedly handsome, and with all his wits about him. And somehow Eliza finds herself confessing her bluff to him and he in turn is much taken with her daring and charm - but can he fall in love with such a scheming widow from the world of trade?

Sir Philip Sommerville is quite the antique, but not too old to bring home a paramour: fat, vulgar and greedy Mrs Budge who, the other poor relations are agreed upon, has to go. And then there is Lady Carruthers, a highly rouged widow who passes off her grown daughter, Arabella, as a school miss while setting her own cap for the young Earl of Denby, despite the fact that young Arabella is quite smitten with the dashing golden-haired earl! So once again it is up to the other poor relations to straighten out the course of true love...

As usual, the poor relations are in need of money to finance the hotel and this time it is up to Colonel Sandhurst to come to the rescue. After coming across Sir Randolph's daughter Frederica, who is running away to escape an awful marriage to Lord Bewley, the Colonel devises a plan to force Sir Randolph to settle his six month outstanding hotel bill and save Frederica from her terrible fate.

Driven into hiding at the hotel by a tyrannous father and a rich but wizened suitor, Lady Jane Fremney attempts to end her life. The poor relations save the young lady and determine to improve her lot in life by bringing her out for the Season. All the young bucks call on Jane, among them the handsome but racy Comte de Mornay, an exile from Napoleon's France who has broken many a heart and so far eluded matrimony. Jane is quite adamant he is unsuitable for her - but when his life is threatened by an assassin's pistol, it is up to her to help him escape from danger... and into l'amour!