The Final Crumpet (42 page)

Authors: Ron Benrey,Janet Benrey

Tags: #Mystery, #tea, #Tunbridge Wells, #cozy mystery, #Suspense, #English mystery

Mr. Melnikov recently became the third volunteer docent at the museum.

Elizabethan Fiction Gurus To Meet At Local Tea Museum

Professor Laurence Garrett, of the University of Kent, has announced that the Kent Chapter of the Society of Elizabethan Fiction will hold its upcoming one-day conference, “The Elizabethans Invented the Romance Novel,” on February 26 at the Royal Tunbridge Wells Tea Museum. Persons interested in attending the conference should apply to Professor Garrett.

Royal Tunbridge Wells Tea Museum Postpones Its Etienne Makepeace Exhibit

The Royal Tunbridge Wells Tea Museum has announced that it will postpone its previously announced plan to create an exhibit devoted to the life and work of Etienne Makepeace, England’s so-called “Tea Sage.” The exhibit was to be located in a new gallery being constructed in vacant space on the museum’s second floor. The new space will be used to highlight the lives and careers of “unique individuals” who played important roles in the history of tea in Great Britain.

Dr. Felicity Adams, the museum’s chief curator, explained that, “We decided to ‘table’ the idea of a Makepeace exhibit because our research into his life has produced confusing results, to say the least. On the one hand, millions of Britons consider Makepeace a remarkable scholar who encouraged countless people to become interested in fine teas. They admire and respect Makepeace for the positive things he did as England’s Tea Sage. For example, he was a successful lecturer (not an easy thing to achieve!) and a famed radio personality who managed to ‘connect’ with his audience and build a large following on the BBC.

“On the other hand, an equal number of people point to the recent disclosures about Makepeace’s life and death and argue that he lacked moral integrity. They believe that honoring him with a museum exhibit would be inappropriate.

“At the end of the day, we found it impossible to plan an exhibit in the near term that would tell the Etienne Makepeace story honestly and completely. Perhaps we will acquire more information about the Tea Sage in the years ahead and be able to move ahead.”

Dr. Adams adds, “It is wise to learn from the past, but foolish to allow the past to dominate our future.”

Discussion Questions

1. Both Nigel and Flick have present-day fears that are driven by unsuccessful past relationships with members of the opposite sex. Both seem unable to get out from under this “garbage from the past.” Have you ever been troubled by “sins of the past” that won’t let go? How did they impact your present relationships with family, friends, husbands and wives? How did you break loose of their hold? Did any Bible verses give you a helping hand?

2. It took Flick and Nigel time to discover their feelings about each other. For starters, Flick seemed all too willing to jump to the wrong conclusion about Nigel. Have you found yourself feeling insecure in a relationship? Did you blame yourself or the other person? How did you resolve the dilemma?

3. A serious “external impediment” to Flick and Nigel’s relationship was the arrival of Olivia. What mistakes did Nigel make in the way he interacted with Olivia? What advice would you have given Flick had you observed the apparent “coziness” of Nigel and Olivia?

4. Etienne Makepeace committed what today is called
sexual harassment.
Have you—or someone you know—been a victim? How did you/they handle the problem?

5. Etienne Makepeace also claimed to be something he was not—and held out work done by other people as his own. Have you ever exaggerated your expertise in order to enhance your reputation? Have you ever encountered a person who plagiarized another’s work? How did you respond when you discovered the deception?

About the Authors

Ron and Janet Benrey
have been a writing team for nearly two decades. They’ve co-written nine romantic suspense novels, beginning with “Little White Lies.” Despite their authorial togetherness, Ron and Janet have dissimilar backgrounds:
Janet has been a literary agent, the editorial director of a small press, an executive recruiter, and a book publicist. Janet earned her degree in Communication (Magna cum Laude) from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ron has been a writer forever—initially on magazines (his first real job was Electronics Editor at Popular Science Magazine), then in corporations (he wrote speeches for senior executives), and then as a novelist. Over the years, Ron has authored ten non-fiction books. His latest is “Know Your Rights: A Survival Guide for Non-Lawyers.” Ron holds degrees in electrical engineering, management, and law.

Ron and Janet live in North Carolina. When they aren’t writing, you’ll probably find them aboard their sailboat, in the Neuse River.

Visit their website:
www.benrey.com
… and their blog:
www.fictionafter50.com

Other Books by the Authors

The Royal Tunbridge Wells Mysteries:

Dead as a Scone

The Pippa Hunnechurch Mysteries:

Little White Lies

The Second Mile

Humble Pie

The Glory Mysteries:

Glory Be!

Gone to Glory

Grits and Glory

Season of Glory

Novella compilation

Building Love

Non-fiction books by Ron Benrey

Know Your Rights: A Survival Guide for Non-Lawyers

Understanding Christianity: Cutting Through the Confusion

The Idiot’s Guide to Writing Christian Fiction

The Final Crumpet

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Greenbrier Book Company

P.O. Box 12721

New Bern, NC 28561

Visit our Web site at
www.greenbrierbooks.com

First eBook Edition: March 2011

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Amazon Kindle eBook eISBN: 978-1-936924-41-7

Cover design by Ken Raney

Table of Contents

A Note From the Authors

The Royal Tunbridge Wells Tea Museum