First appearances can be deceiving. Although he appear mute and dumb, Lily Stump cannot help but feel the monster in the garden is anything but. Apollo is just trying to stay hidden when his life intersects with Lily Stump and the two cannot seem to stay away from each other. As the two grow closer, will the truth of Apollo's imprisonment drive them apart? Can Lily love a lord when her experience tells her to stay away? We'll find out in Maiden Lane 7, Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt!

Pick up a copy of today's book, Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt!

If you'd like to listen to a certain segment of our show, here's our outline this week:

0:00 - 06:35: Intro and History Fact

6:35 - 07:30: TW

07:30 - 18:57: Synopsis

18:57 - 21:02: Parlour

21:02 - 50:12: General Discussion

We include our synopses as a semi-transcription of the episode in our blog posts. You can learn more about how we compose these by reading this article. As a reminder though, our synopses are FULL of spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk :)

Darling Beast Synopsis:

• Recap on Apollo: Was broken out of Bedlam after being imprisoned for 4 years for murdering three people. He is innocent but his sister is the only one who believes him. In the last book, the duke of Wakefield broke him out of Bedlam at Artemis’s behest because he was beaten almost to death. Apollo has not been able to talk since the beating, nine months ago.

• He has been hiding out at Hart’s Folly, where he is actually an investor. He invested all his money before he was arrested, so he has no other capital at his disposal. So he is helping rebuild Hart’s folly by designing and building the new garden. Although everyone just thinks he’s a dumb, mute, laborer. Perfect!

• Lily Stump, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a famous comedic actress in London. Asa Makepeace (Mr. Hart) asked her to sign an exclusive contract with him just before the fire. Her old employer then blackballed her from the theaters, so she, her son, and their maidservant, Maude, are staying in the only intact area of the burned theater because they could no longer make rent. Her son Indio is seven and has a dog, an Italian greyhound named Daffodil.

• Indio is the first to discover Apollo. He tells his mother about the monster that also lives in the garden. However, soon curious Indio meets Apollo and after Apollo saves Daffodil from drawing in the pond, is invited for dinner.

• Lily is apprehensive of the large man, but does find him oddly attractive. She is a bit concerned about this because she thinks he is mentally handicapped at first. Her son has named him Caliban.

• "Caliban. The illiterate knave from The Tempest. Well, he supposed he could’ve done worse. Indio might’ve chosen A Midsummer Night’s Dream—and named him Bottom."

• One day after meeting Caliban, Lily is working on her play, which her brother has told her needs to be finished in a week, when Apollo comes by. He sits to listen to her work through the dialogue when suddenly a man appears.

• It is Captain Trevillion who has been working as bodyguard to Lady Phoebe Batten and notices the strange errands Artemis has been running. As the man who originally arrested Apollo, he sets out to capture him.

• Apollo meets the attack and Lily runs, grabbing Indio as she goes. Trevellion is thinking his life is over when Apollo lets him go. In that act he realizes that he arrested the wrong man for the murders. He tells Apollo he will do what he can to see him declared innocent.

• Apollo goes to Lily’s house to make sure they are alright. He however is not. One of the shots Trevellion discharges, grazing him and he is bleeding. Lily and her maidservant tend the wound and put him to bed in their home.

• Apollo wakes up in a bed and remembers the day before. He tries to get up and about without notice of the family, but Indio is already up and they bond a little more outside in the most male way possible.

• "Apollo tried not to let the compliment go to his head. Precision pissing was, after all, a sadly underrated skill among most of society."

• He is invited back in for breakfast, but soon leaves again to go about his work for the day.

• Once he leaves, Maude tells Lily she needs to be careful. Lily replies:

• “He looks at me in admiration, but not like those other men—as if I’m an object he wants to have, for other men to admire. When he looks at me I think he sees a woman he likes, a woman he wants to talk to. And I want to talk to him, Maude. I want to learn what he thinks about when his lips turn up, and what he sees when he looks at his garden, and what he’ll be doing tomorrow and the next day.” She stopped because she knew she’d lost any hope of eloquence. “I can’t explain it. I only know I want to spend time with him. When I’m with him, the minutes, the hours, fly by so fast and I hardly notice.”

• Apollo starts his day by telling Asa that Trevellion found him, then the Duke of Montgomery, a backer and veritable snake of man, lets it be known that he is aware of Apollo’s real name.

• It’s concerning that people seem to know all these facts but Apollo is not yet feeling threatened and the garden is his only hope of future income. So back to work he goes.

• Today is a big day. It is the first full size tree Apollo is transplanting in the garden. Indio and Lily have found him during the day and stay to observe the tree going in.

• Since Apollo is still acting dumb, he has to let the foreman take over the project using the notes he detailed. Everything is going to plan until a rope slips and the tree begins to fall. This wouldn’t be terrible except Apollo sees Indio dart forward for Daffodil, who was sniffing at the edge of the hole. Without realizing Apollo shouts, “INDIO!”

• Lily is frantic with worry, sure all three are crushed, but Apollo manages to save Daffodil and Indio. Luckily the tree did not land directly in the hole.

• Lily speaks with Apollo that night and, with use of a voice now, he tells her some of his history, that he has a sister, and how he came to lose his voice. He does not tell her his real name though. In the end they kiss and would have gotten more serious if Maude had not interrupted.

• She is processing this information when her brother comes to ask after her play, which is not yet done and they argue over who gets the proceeds. Her brother is the one who sells the plays with his name, so gets a cut of the money. With finances tight, she is arguing for him to lower his commission. Apollo comes across them arguing and hears Edwin threaten Lily, so he intervenes and physically hauls the man away, telling him he can return when he can speak civilly to his sister.

• The next morning, Apollo is awoken by soldiers storming the gardens. He escapes but barely. Lily is also awoken by soldiers and this is where she finds out some of what Apollo left out of his tale.

• “Be careful, Miss Goodfellow, you and your boy and your maid. Kilbourne is no more than a beast. He’d as soon kill you as look at you.”

• Now things get interesting and our setting changes. We are now at the house party of William Greaves, Uncle to Apollo. It turns out the play Lily needed to finish was for this house party and it is also a party she agreed to come and work as an actress thanks to the Duke of Montgomery.

• On Apollo’s side, he is there because between Trevellion and Montgomery, it appears his Uncle may have wanted to get Apollo out of the way so that he could inherit the title.

• Lily sees Apollo in all his aristocratic glory. She is glad to see him and know he is alright but also mad at him for not telling her everything. His sister is a damn Duchess for pete sake! She is the illegitimate daughter of an actress and a porter.

• Apollo sneaks into her room so they can discuss things and of course, it’s a house party so we finally get a consummation. And then we get encounters 2-4 while we’re at the house party.

• House party goes pretty much to plan, until Apollo is caught searching his uncle’s study and his uncle runs off screaming murder!

• Apollo escapes with the aid of Montgomery and awaits Lily at the meeting place he hastily gave her before fleeing.

• Lily, before leaving the party, finds the real murderer. Turns out not to be the uncle but the cousin. He is obsessed with the title not going to the “mad” side of the family. Turns out he’s the one that’s mad in that generation.

• Lily arrives at Hart’s folly and manages to save Apollo from being shot. He in turn pummels his cousin. Then the father of Lily’s son shows up to claim his heir.

• This is not good. Indio is not really her son but her good friend’s son. He was born the night his mother was beaten nearly to death and his mother did not survive. Lily has been hiding him from his father because he does not want his legitimate first son to inherit because his second wife’s money is partially dependent on their children inheriting. He wants to kill Indio.

• Luckily Apollo had Montgomery for backup and he shoots Indio’s asshole dad.

• Lily’s calvary then appears in the form of her brother, the Duke of Wakefield, and Trevellion. They take care of the murderer and would be murderer and the day is saved.

• That night at the Wakefield town house, Lily finds Apollo in her room.

• “I love you and you love me. I might’ve been in a little doubt before this afternoon, but when you flung yourself in front of a pistol, it did rather clarify things. And, since you love me and I love you, it is right and meet and wonderful that you and I become man and wife and spend the rest of our lives sleeping together and rising together and having masses of children together and living joyfully.”

• And that’s the end!

• Also this time we get an epilogue about our current MCs!

• Three months later, Lily and Apollo are married. He is living a free life and will soon be an earl. The garden is taking shape and everyone is happy. Lily shows him his notebook that she saved the day the soldiers stormed the garden months ago.

• "She reached out and flipped the pages of the notebook until the last page lay open in his hands. She’d written something there. He bent and read. I love you, Beast. I love you, Caliban. I love you, Apollo. I love you, Romeo. I love you, Smith. I love you, Gardener. I love you, Aristocrat. I love you, Lover. I love you, Husband. I love you, Friend. I love you, You."

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