Book Title: A SCHEMING IN PARLIAMENT
Character Name: Sir Bertrand Thorndike
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
I had a wonderful childhood. My father, the Earl of Thorndike, owned a sprawling estate near Worcester, and I had free run of the place. My elder brother, Tristan, is now the earl and has the property. We were educated by the local vicar and the sent away to school. I had all the advantages a young boy could wish.
What was your greatest talent?
Agility and skill at sports, including riding, archery, shooting, darts. I’m told I’m also fairly skilled in social situations. Personally, I am rather proud of my acting skills, as I have for several years, passed myself off as an idle dilettante who has an affection for drink. In truth, I don’t drink much, but it’s a useful ability in my line of work. People tend to let their guard down around someone they think is a lightweight.
Significant other?
Hmm…I have been quite adept at evading such relationships. Though there is one woman who has caught my eye lately.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
I don’t like things to be untidy, and many relationships are, well, messy is the best word for it. Relationships lead to entanglements. I like to be unencumbered. I am extremely loyal to my family and my team, but beyond that, I tend to keep things on a surface level.
Where do you live?
I’ve recently purchased a townhouse in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. This will be the first time I have established my own residence. Prior to this, I lived with my brother, the earl, and his countess in their London home.
Do you have any enemies?
I’m afraid I make enemies regularly. In the course of my work, I am constantly on the lookout for new enemies.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
I love London. She is a city of many moods and whims. All sorts of people rub shoulders. London has great virtue and great vice, and it is our duty to promote the former and quell the latter.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
No, as I said before, I am not in favor of encumbrances. I have not married, nor set up my nursery, and I am currently not inclined to do either. As to pets, I had the occasional hunting dog on my father’s estate, but no such animal resides with me currently.
What do you do for a living?
I am an agent for the Crown. A spy, if you will. I specialize in counterespionage. I seek out anything and anyone wishing to topple our government and the safety of the realm. Currently, duties as an agent have brought me into a role as a Member of Parliament for Southwark. I’m looking for corruption in the government, which, as you can imagine, has not been difficult to find.
Greatest disappointment?
My younger self would have said my greatest disappointment was an unrequited love when I was a lad. Now? I suppose that I cannot get justice for every victim I come across.
Greatest source of joy?
In my work, when I unravel a puzzle that leads to a villain getting proper justice brings me a great deal of satisfaction. In my personal life, my family and my friends’ happiness bring me joy.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
I still enjoy things of an athletic nature, but I also enjoy playing cards. I do enjoy things of an absurd nature, and I am wont to find humor in somber places, which entertains me endlessly.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Someone is manipulating members of Parliament to affect the course of government, and I have not yet discerned who that is. I have my suspicions, but nothing is clear just yet. Blackmail and coercion are such distasteful practices.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I would like to feel settled. Now I feel my life is in transition, that I am a bit rootless. As a second son of an earl, my life’s path was never laid out for me as it was for my elder brother, and I was content to drift along, enjoying my work, enjoying society gatherings, but now, I want more. I want to do more than follow orders from my superiors in the agency. I want to lead a team and have more responsibility. This seems at odds with my desire to be unencumbered, and I find the juxtaposition irritating.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
I suppose I am to blame. I have been too good at playing the idle bachelor. My supervisor in the Agency, the Duke of Haverly, suggests that it is time I found a wife and settled down. It’s time I established a different persona, thus gaining respectability among my new peers in Parliament. I suspect he also feels marrying and having children would be good for me personally.
Time will tell.
A SCHEMING IN PARLIAMENT by Erica Vetsch
Of Cloaks & Daggers
Evil is masquerading in the halls of Parliament, and Sir Bertrand Thorndike is tasked with investigating from the inside. With his new position as a member of the House of Commons, he has access to the power brokers of English government. His tactic is to listen and learn, careful not to reveal his true motives, and he’s quickly inducted into the mysterious Theban Club.
Miss Philippa Cashel’s mission, the Princess Charlotte Eleos School for Women in Need, is thriving with donations, and the students are learning skills to help them earn their livings in honorable ways. But when a dear friend’s past is revealed by blackmail, Philippa must wrestle with the question, Is it ever right to do the wrong thing?
Bertie’s and Philippa’s missions collide when Bertie uncovers a dangerous plot involving vulnerable women. He and Philippa join forces against the corruption threatening to topple England’s government, all while navigating their outward reputations and inward feelings for each other.
Christian Historical | Christian Romance [Kregel Publications, On Sale: August 26, 2025, Paperback, ISBN: 9780825448638 / ]
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About Erica Vetsch
Erica Vetsch is a transplanted Kansan now residing in Minnesota. She loves history and romance, and is blessed to be able to combine the two by writing historical romances. Whenever she’s not immersed in fictional worlds, she’s the company bookkeeper for the family lumber business, mother of two, wife to a man who is her total opposite and soul-mate, and avid museum patron.
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