This is the story of Gervase Frant, seventh Earl of St Erth, who takes his title after returning to his ancestral estate from Waterloo. His cousin, stepmother, and young half-brother, awaiting him there, do not welcome him home to the “castle”. His brother wanted the title and hoped Gervase would die in battle. He is jealous of him when the girl he wants is charmed by the new earl (though Gervase shows only a passing interest in her). Worse, it seems there is someone trying to kill Gervase. Many attempts are made and he survives them all. That mystery is the best part of the story.
The romance, if you want to call it that, between Gervase and Drusilla, doesn’t develop until late in the story. He gives no sign of his affection for her until the very end. He respects her, but then so does everyone at the castle. She is a pragmatic woman with good common sense if no great beauty, who tells herself she has fallen in love with him. Again, one does not see it, one is told of it. I enjoyed the mystery (which is solved in good order) and the dialog, but the story’s abrupt ending—in the middle of a conversation, no less—was disappointing.
So, if you love Heyer, you may enjoy the story but, to me, it is not her best.
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