London, 1816. A handsome baron. A faux betrothal. And Horatia's plan to
join the London literary set takes a dangerous turn. Now that the war
with France has ended, Baron Guy Fortescue arrives in England to claim
his inheritance, abandoned over thirty years ago when his father fled to
France after killing a man in a duel. When Guy is set upon by footpads
in London, a stranger, Lord Strathairn, rescues and befriends him. But
while traveling to his country estate, Guy is again attacked. He
escapes only to knock himself out on a tree branch. Aspiring poet
Horatia Cavendish has taken to riding her father's stallion, "The
General", around the countryside of Digswell dressed as a groom. She has
become bored of her country life and longs to escape to London to
pursue her desire to become part of the London literary set. When she
discovers Guy lying unconscious on the road, the two are forced to take
shelter for the night in a hunting lodge. After Guy discovers her ruse, a
friendship develops between them. Guy suspects his relative, Eustace
Fennimore is behind the attacks on his life. He has been ensconced in
Rosecroft Hall during the family's exile and will become the heir should
Guy die. Horatia refuses to believe her godfather, Eustace, is
responsible. But when Guy proposes a faux betrothal to give him more
time to discover the truth, she agrees. Secure in the knowledge that his
daughter will finally wed, Horatia's father allows her to visit her
blue-stocking aunt in London. But Horatia's time spent in London proves
to be anything but a literary feast, for a dangerous foe plots Guy's
demise. She is determined to keep alive her handsome fiance, who has
proven more than willing to play the part of her lover even as he
resists her attempts to save him.
Review:
~Romantic Historical Lovers~ Where History Meets Passion
This story has
all the elements of a perfect Regency romance, a handsome Frenchman in
fear of his life from unknown quarters, a beautiful girl trying not to
fall in love with him and a mysterious Lord who becomes his friend but
seems to know a lot more about him than a stranger should.
As a fan of
Maggi Andersen, she has done it again with ‘A Baron In Her Bed’, with a
mystery encompassed within a love story that has to be solved, and
races along to a satisfying conclusion.
PG Excerpt:
She
patted The General’s nose and fed him an apple. By the time the last of it had
disappeared, she heard the clip of a horse’s hooves on the gravel drive. She
peeped out of the barn door and saw the baron, tall in the saddle, riding
towards the house.
Horatia
stepped out and beckoned him. He caught sight of her and rode towards the
stables then dismounted and led the horse inside.
“Sorry,
my lord,” Horatia said, adopting Simon’s gruff voice. “We have no footman here.
No under-groom neither. I’ll stable your horse.”
“Simon,
good fellow,” he said warmly. “I came to thank you again. I am indebted to
you.”
“No
need for that, my lord,” she said. “Everything’s right and tight here as it
happens.” She turned her back to lead his horse into one of the stalls. Seizing
a brush, she bent and swept it over the horse’s flanks.
He
came to rest an arm on the stall door. “I am relieved. If you had lost your
job, I was going to ask you to work for me.”
She
straightened to brush the horse’s back, confident of the poor light. “Mighty
good of you, my lord. But not at all necessary.”
“Eh bien, merci encore.” He turned
towards the door.
Relieved
it had gone so well, Horatia stepped out from behind the horse. She looked up
to see if he had gone and found him watching her with his arms folded.
The
elation left her, and she took a deep, shaky breath.
“Did
you really think you could go on fooling me?” A note of outrage lay beneath the
humorous tone in his voice. “How many people around here have red hair like
yours?”
“My
hair’s not red,” she said, incensed. “It’s chestnut.”
“I
wondered how far you would carry this ruse, Miss Cavendish.”
She
backed into an empty stall as he strode towards her.
He
followed her inside. Reaching over, he whipped off her hat, and her hair came
loose and tumbled around her face. “So, what do you have to say in your
defense?”
“Nothing,
my lord.” Horatia lifted her chin, her heart pounding loud in her ears. She
chewed her lip. She would have to brazen this out.
Annoyed
blue eyes stared into hers. “I do not like to be toyed with. I thought there
was something wrong with me.”
“Pardon?”
“Watching
you bend over in those breeches. Zut! From the first, I felt a strong
attraction to you. And then, when I saw you dressed as a woman, I understood.”
“You
knew it was me at the dance?” She scowled. “And you deliberately teased me?”
“Don’t
you think you deserved it?” He seized her shoulders and gave them a shake. “You
tricked me. Why?”
She
swallowed. “No trickery, my lord. I was dressed this way when I found you, if
you recall. I needed to keep up the pretense.”
He
shrugged. “But why do you dress like that?”
She
couldn’t explain her restlessness to him and tossed her head. “I prefer to ride
astride.”
He
raised a brow. “You like a strong beast moving beneath you?”
She
bristled at the insult. “I like to ride alone.” He made it sound as if she
gained some sort of indecent enjoyment from the exercise. Her face heated. To
ride astride was unfeminine, she knew, but that fact had never bothered her
before.
“But
to do so places you in peril.”
Horatia
drew herself up. “I can handle myself as well as a man.”
“You
believe that, do you?” His gaze flicked over her. What was he thinking? She
quivered under his scrutiny.
Buy Links:
Regency romance, historical romance, adventure, suspense, Maggi Andersen.
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