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LOVE IS A ROGUE - Lenora Bell England - 1830 Studious Lady Beatrice Bentley has ensconced herself at the estate of her brother, the Duke of Thorndon, in far off Cornwall. If she had her way, she would steer clear of London, the ton , and all that its society expects of her. Spending endless hours in the spacious library working diligently on her dictionary, Beatrice has a goal to publish it and prove that women are not uneducated ninnies. The only daughter to the late duke, Beatrice had been born with a palsy that left one side of her face disfigured slightly. Her mother, the dowager duchess, is intent on making sure that her wallflower child be accepted in society and is hard at work matching her with an earl. As much as she would like to be concentrating on her work, Beatrice has been distracted daily by the construction going on at the estate. The biggest distraction is one Stamford Wright, the son of her brother's estate retainer, who is managing the renovations for his father who had been injured in a fall. Wright's commanding presence, not to mention his rippling muscles and good looks, have left Beatrice in a state of confusion. And Wright is very much aware of how often he sees the young lady observing him from the window. So when he climbs the rose trellis to return her glasses which crazily fell as she leaned out the window to watch him, Beatrice is just a tad surprised at how much she likes what he did, even if that's not how she acted. Upon her return to London, Beatrice is thrown into the frenzy of preparing for another Season. Her mother has kept her busy with fittings, luncheons, balls, and talk of a betrothal to the Earl of Mayhew. Beatrice, on the other hand, has gathered her group of close friends, discreetly named the Mayfair Ladies Knitting League, although not much in the way of knitting goes on at their meetings. Having discovered that a long-lost aunt has left her a bookshop, plans are underway to restore it and turn it into their gathering place. But first, they need a carpenter to restore the building. And Beatrice knows just the carpenter for the job. Wright, who is on leave from the Navy, has a ship to catch in two weeks, but he's willing to help Beatrice because he has discovered that his estranged grandfather wants to snatch the building away from her. Wright is not about to let that happen. And when Beatrice keeps appearing at the shop to "help", well, what can a man do? LOVE IS A ROGUE is a very delightful, fun, yet, at times, poignant love story of two people who have no business together. The daughter and sister of dukes, Beatrice is hardly one to worry about such things, but Wright is very much attuned to society's norms. Great secondary characters, especially the knitting league ladies, round out this excellent tale. One of The Wallflowers vs. Rogues novels, LOVE IS A ROGUE is a terrific autumn read. Jani Brooks |
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