Claiming the Tower. Council Mysteries, #1

Hereswith is frustrated with the world. There's the utter mismanagement of the war in the Crimea. While she moves among the diplomatic set of London, she's limited in what she can do there by her gender and their assumptions. She has more scope within Britain's magical community, but expectations hem her in there as well. Hereswith loves the times she can retreat to her family home, her father, and their library.
But those things don't improve a world that needs something better. Bess has moved from house to house as companion to a series of increasingly difficult older women. Her current position has narrowed her world to tangled embroidery thread, small household tribulations, and dealing with her mistress's whims and changes of mood. She treasures the few hours she gets to herself on Tuesday afternoons.
When Hereswith and Bess begin to talk, they find each other pleasant company in a way neither of them expected. Those Tuesdays with a lavish tea spread and drinking chocolate become a highlight of the week. As they talk, both of them begin to wonder what the world might look like if things were a little different. When one of Albion's Council suggests Hereswith's skills might have a wider scope, neither Hereswith or Bess know what might come from it.
Not for the land, not for Albion, and certainly not what it might mean for both of them. Are they brave enough to change the world?Join Hereswith and Bess in 1854 for a f/f (sapphic) romance full of drinking chocolate, Victorian delights, and growing love and mutual support. There's the utter delight of a trip to London's Crystal Palace, and a social triumph or two for both of them. The first book in the Council Mysteries series, Claiming the Tower can be read in any order.