Just when everything at the Poor Relation Hotel seems to be running smoothly, Sir Philip brings in another poor relation, Mrs. Budge. When Sir Philip presents his paramour, Lady Fortescue swears great oaths and says the woman is probably related to half the costermongers in London and certainly does not possess one rich relative. Mrs. Budge does nothing but eat all day and refuses to do any work around the hotel. Worst of all, Miss Tonks seems to be taking the romance between Sir Philip and Mrs. Budge quite hard.
In the middle of all this commotion, a certain Lady Carruthers and her daughter Arabella come to stay at the hotel. Lady Carruthers is a widow trying to pass herself off as much younger than she actually is. To this end she dresses poor Arabella, who is all of nineteen, as a young schoolgirl and refuses to bring her out. It is up to the poor relations to deal with the lazy Mrs. Budge, find Arabella a husband, and trounce her terrible mother!
M. C. Beaton, hailed as the “Queen of Crime” by the Globe and Mail, was the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Agatha Raisin novels—the basis for the hit series on Acorn TV and public television—as well as the Hamish Macbeth series and the Edwardian Murder Mysteries featuring Lady Rose Summer. Born in Scotland, Beaton started her career writing historical romances under several pseudonyms. She passed away in 2019.
Davina Porter has over twenty years' experience narrating books. Her special talent for a variety of dialects and accents has won the praise of critics and listeners alike. A member of Actors' Equity, Davina has appeared in many stage productions and has won several awards. Her audio work has covered a wide range of the written word, including classics, histories, biographies, romances, how-to books, and children's literature. Identified as "a narrator against whom all others should be measured" by the Los Angeles Times, she has won several awards for excellence in recording and was one of three AudioFile Golden Voices in 2002 and 2003. She has also been named one of AudioFile's 50 Best Voices of the Last Century. In 2004 Davina was the proud recipient of an Audie Award, and in 2006 her narration of A Breath of Snow and Ashes-the latest title in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, the entirety of which Davina has recorded-earned her a second Audie Award for Best Female Narrator of the Year.