Cathy is stunned to discover they'll be moving to Londinium and William confides that Lord Iris wants him to make a play for the role of Duke of Londinium, since the fall of Lady Rose and the Rosas has left the seat vacant. William is young and inexperienced, and Cathy couldn't be a worse choice as Duchess, but fall in line they must.
While in Londinium, Cathy is tasked with managing the enormous estate she and William have been gifted and finds she is actually quite good at it, with her accounting background that she picked up while hiding out in Mundanus. Unfortunately, she manages to piss off a member of The Agency, the group who supplies all of the servants to the homes, when she realizes he has been fleecing the great families for years. But perhaps she can use The Agency to locate her former nanny, the young woman who stoked her rebellious streak for all of those years...
Cathy finds herself bored with this life and, what's worse, William is trying desperately to woo her, which is the last thing she wants. In his frustration at her lack of desire, he finds himself turning to his secret passion, Amelia White, formerly Amelia Alba-Rosa, whom William has been hiding under his protection, along with her brother Cornelius, since the fall of the Rosas. But Cornelius and Amelia have secret plans of their own, unbeknownst to William, and it is in their best interest that he become Duke.
Meanwhile, Max the Arbiter, the gargoyle and Ekstrand, Sorcerer Guardian of Wessex, have their hands full not only with solving the mystery of the fallen Chapter in Bath, but it seems someone has set their murderous sites on all of the Sorcerers in the Split Worlds, but who and for what purpose?
Back in Mundanus, poor Sam can't shake the desperation he saw in the slaves of the Fae and he makes his way back to Exilium to try and rescue them, only making things worse in the process, by tangling with Lord Poppy and finding himself the bearer of bad news when Cathy is tasked with another ridiculous quest by her former Lord. What could be worse?
Well, Sam's wife, Leeann, is becoming more distant and he soon realizes why, when he brings Max to check out her fancy new apartment, supplied by her boss, Mr. Neugent. It seems she and Sam are more entangled with Lord Iron than they could have ever known, starting with their wedding rings, but why is an Elemental Lord meddling in the affairs of the mundane? Sam and the gang will find out soon enough, but they won't like the answer.
Following a horrific attack in Mundanus for Cathy and William's baby sister, Sophia, William makes his play for the role of Duke of Londinium, after getting specific instructions from Lord Iris. Sadly, he has also gotten bad intel as to who was behind the attack on Cathy, which fuels the fire. The fallout from his political move will be fierce and vast, but are William and Cathy up to the task? It will be interesting to see what happens, going forward, but one thing is for sure - Cathy has realized that she isn't the only unhappy woman in The Nether, so perhaps she doesn't have to flee to Mundanus to conduct her rebellion. It seems there's plenty to defy right there at home. Stay tuned for my review of All is Fair: The Split Worlds - Book Three, coming soon.
