M C Beaton: Lady Fortescue Steps Out

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 Rrelation, 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.