Set in the Regency, this is the story of the twin Fancot brothers, one who is frivolous yet is the heir to the title, and the other, a more serious fellow and a successful international diplomat. Evelyn, the heir to the title is late for a party to meet the family of his intended. Persuaded by their mother, his serious brother, Kit, steps in to impersonate him and save the day. After all it’s to be a marriage of convenience in a way and the bride to be doesn’t know his brother well.
Both twins are concerned about their widowed mother's mounting debts and determine to pay them off. Evelyn sought the marriage so he could end a trust that is hampering his access to the family’s money.
Meanwhile, the bride to be, Cressy Stavely, is no fool. She takes to Kit immediately and one gets the impression she is aware he is not the frivolous heir who made her an offer of marriage.
This story has all the marks of a good Heyer novel: witty dialog, banter, Regency-isms,
house parties, dress and food of the period, well-researched, and a mismatched
couple. But it didn’t quite come up to the standard of her other novels. Having
just finished These Old Shades, which
I loved, I was at a loss to explain this one, which did not hold my attention,
at all. For one thing, it’s too long. The dialog between Kit and his mother goes
on forever, pages after pages. The relationship between Kit and Cressy, which
supposedly leads to love, was not convincing. Yes, they seem to be getting
along grandly, but love? I found myself skipping paragraphs and missed little.
Still, if you are a confirmed Heyer fan, you may like this one as well as the others.
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