This was recommended by Lady Catherine’s Salon member Rabia Bawany in a Sunday Review, and I found it an absorbing read, even though I wanted to bang the principals’ heads together at times. Would it hurt to talk to each other, people?
Here’s the premise: Lady Elizabeth Rushlake is an unusual Regency lady, for she has a little hobby of dabbling in stocks and shares, which she takes far more seriously than her expected role of finding a husband. She dominates her mother and younger sister, and is altogether not the usual submissive female. But there’s a reason for that. Six years ago, she fell deeply in love with Chadwick Lockridge, and would have married him, except that foul rumours about him drove him away to India and broke her heart. But one day she’s shaken to discover that Chad has moved into the house next door, and is set on re-establishing himself in society. She’s determined not to be drawn in again, and he seems indifferent to her now. Perhaps she should settle down with long-standing friend and admirer Giles Daventry? But then rumours start to circulate about Chad again and things get decidedly murky.
This is not the sort of book where the villain is revealed in the final chapter. We know his identity from a very early stage, so the only surprise is how long it takes Liza to cotton on. Meanwhile, Chad and Lisa are circling warily round each other, veering from icy disdain to passionate kisses and all points in between. Since we see into both characters’ heads, we know right from the start that they both harbour feelings for the other, and they both feel betrayed by the other. It’s a classic case of a misunderstanding that could have been cleared up in five minutes over a cup of tea, but no, it gets dragged out for the whole book. I accept that they were both very young when the first break-up happened, but surely their older and wiser selves could have been more sensible?
If the main romance is slightly lacking in the common sense department, there’s an array of minor characters to lighten the mix. Liza’s lively younger sister Charity was fun to watch, although she had her own outbreak of stupidity. And Chad’s oddball collection of servants and informers who helped him track down the villain were a delightful bunch of eccentrics. At least one of them turns up in another book, so I’ll have to look that up.
The finale is suitably dramatic even if not very original (shenanigans at Vauxhall’s? Who would have thought it?), and the romance (in fact all the romances, because there are several) end in resounding fashion. This is the first Anne Barbour I’ve read, but I shall certainly be looking out for more of her work. There are lots of minor typos that probably result from careless digitisation, but they were only a minor irritant. An unusual and intriguing read. Four stars.
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