Innkeeper’s Daughter Launch Week ~ an Interview with the Heroine
Meet the spirited innkeeper’s daughter herself.
We caught up with the new proprietor at the recently refurbished Blue Hedge Inn, where Johanna Moore—formerly Langley—agreed to answer a few questions, but only a few. She’s a busy little lady.
Johanna (Langley) Moore
Q: Thank you for a few moments of your time. How goes it, running the inn these days?
Johanna: **tucks a loose sweep of hair behind her ear**
“Well, managing an inn is always somewhat of a—Thomas! Excuse me.”
**she leans sideways and tugs the sleeve of a sandy-haired lad slipping past her, and after a few heated whispers, the lad screws up his face then dashes off**
“Sorry. My brother was supposed to be tending to patrons, not trying to slide out the door. As I was saying, running the inn nowadays, while still a fair amount of work, is so much easier with my husband at my side.”
Q: Ahh, yes. You are a newlywed, are you not?
Johanna: **cheeks flame into a rosy hue**
“I suppose you could say that, though Alex and I have been married nearly a year now.”
Q: Have there been any more harrowing smuggling incidents?
Johanna: **throws out her hands**
“La! This is the coast. You can’t escape freetraders, not with taxes what they are. But no. Any smugglers bent on wickedness stay far away from my husband.”
Q: We are relieved to hear that. But we also hear your mother is recently wed as well.
Johanna: **grins, so widely her eyes squint a bit**
“She is, and I couldn’t be happier. Mam and Richard were meant for each other. They run a small farm north of London. Mam smiles now more than I ever remember her smiling, and—oh!”
**a crash from the kitchen jerks her face aside, her grin fading as she looks back**
“I am sorry, but I really do need to be going. I don’t know what possessed him, but Alex thought he’d try his hand at making bread. It sounds as though he’s manhandling the dough like a criminal. I suppose you can take the man away from Bow Street, but you can’t take Bow Street out of the man. I should go help him.”
Q: One last question, if you don’t mind. It’s, well…it’s highly improper for us to ask, but we are curious to know when we can expect the new little Moore to make an appearance?
Johanna: **absently rubs one hand over her swollen abdomen, the pretty blush returning to her cheeks**
“He’ll be a summer baby. Mid-August or so.”
Q: Him?
Johanna: **her blush deepens**
“Oh, yes. Alex insists it’s a boy. And as you know, Alexander Moore always has his way.”
Q: Aha! So the rumours are true, the ones he’s been spreading that the child shall be named after his fellow officer Daniel Thatcher?
Johanna: **shrugs her slim shoulders**
“I can think of no better namesake.”
**another crash from the kitchen followed by a deep bellow for Johanna**
“Sorry, but I must run!”
The little lady waddles off and disappears through a door behind the taproom counter.
To find out the story of how Alex and Johanna met, snatch up your copy of The Innkeeper’s Daughter—a Regency adventure. And don’t forget to sign up to win a set of signed copies of the first two Bow Street Runners tales.