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The ton called Lucien Albert Xavier St. Aubyn, twelfth duke of Ravenwood, thirteenth earl of Chalmly, sixteenth baron of Blackwell the Duke of Death, the Rake of Ravenwood. He was the Duke of Death because so many people around him had died, including four governesses; his mother in childbirth (his); his father of a chicken bone in the throat; his good friend by a stone inadvertently thrown up by Lucien's carriage; and his brother shot, accidently, by Lucien, in a duel. He was the Rake of Ravenwood . . .well, because he was the king of rakes. Elizabeth Montclair belonged, yet she did not belong. She was the daughter of an earl. Her grandfather had been made an earl because King George III had thought he was, "A damn fine cobbler." Elizabeth is in her third season, still unwed. This will, of necessity, be her last season; the money has run out. She is staring "governess" in the face. Lucien and Elizabeth have met. The first time he asked her to dance, she called him a "whoremongering murderer". The second time, he sank the ship she was on. Not ausicious beginnings for a marriage, but there you have it. Lucien compromises Elizabeth at a society ball, and is forced to marry her. Well, not really forced - he could jilt her. Her reputation would be gone, and his is not of such great concern to him. His money and title will overcome a great deal of disgrace. But, for reasons not quite clear to Lucien, he does come up to scratch and marry Elizabeth. And the fun begins. Elizabeth is determined to go her own way after the honeymoon, and not to "bed" her husband during the honeymoon. This challenge to Lucien piques his interest, and they spend a lot of the weeks following their wedding playing an intricate game of sexual innuendo, bluff and counter-bluff, one-up's-manship. There are, the reader must be warned, some fairly explicit sexual scenes in this section, but nothing too outrageous. There is a low-key sub-plot: there are those who would see Lucien brought to trial for the murder of his brother Henry. The last part of the book brings this sub-plot to the surface. Lucien is arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to hang. His best friend, John, allows as how he'll be glad to take care of Elizabeth once Lucien is dead. You'll have to read the book to find out what happens next - and plenty happens. I enjoyed this book. It reads like Georgette Heyer blended with the humor and innuendo of Janet Evanovich. Elizabeth might never really have existed in Regency England, but that's a suspension of belief that romance readers make all the time; her spirit and integrity make her a character female readers can identify with and enjoy. The by-play between Lucien and Elizabeth is fun to read. The level of suspense, which is fairly low for most of the book, picks up in the last quarter and kept me reading right through lunch. I'll look for more Pamela Britton at the library.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, April 2003
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