Circe Hill, a young woman of noble
birth, holds no hope of achieving marital bliss like her elder sister Psyche, not just
because of her original and forthright ways, but also because of her all-consuming passion
for her artistic endeavors, her disregard for the shackling of conventional society ways
and her fey looks. Yet she’s unable to refuse her sister’s plea to make her
come-out and returns to England after spending an idyllic two years on the continent,
learning, exploring and painting to her heart’s content. In London, she once again
meets David Lydford, Earl of Westbury, whom she’s secretly waited for years to notice
that she’s all grown up and who unknowingly holds her heart in his hands. But her
little dreams are shattered when David comes to her with a surprising proposition, one
that has nothing to do with love or marriage.
For most of his
life, David has labored to overthrow the sordid burden of his deceased father’s
amoral and lascivious reputation. To achieve this end, he’s suppressed his fun-loving
and casual ways and become a very stiff-necked and proper gentleman, a stickler for the
society’s conservative ways. He’s always regarded Circe as his best friend
Gabriel’s sister-in-law, a child who loves to paint and nothing more. To perform a
secretive and dangerous job, he requests Circe to pretend as if he’s courting her.
This has the added benefit of appeasing his marriage-mad mother and keeping her off his
back. David is in for a rude shock, when, at her come-out ball, he suddenly discovers that
he absolutely hates and loathes all the men who’re hanging around an unexpectedly
grown-up and ravishing Circe. However he still refuses to accept his own suddenly changed
feelings towards Circe. When danger begins to follow Circe around, David is torn between
duty and love. How is Circe’s new Italian maid involved in this?
Lady in Waiting
is a sensitive, romantic tale which the author, Nicole Byrd, has written in a heartfelt
and sincere style. The book is not only entertaining, but also replete with depth and ripe
with situations that provide a lot of drama and adventure, and arouse varied emotions. The
story is typical of the Regency genre and the book would have been just one of countless
such, if not for the strong, well-developed characters and Nicole Byrd’s unassuming
and forthright writing style.
Circe is very
atypical of this genre’s heroine and comes as a refreshing change. Through her, Ms.
Byrd has revealed an artist’s nature, a person whose vision sees so much more than
the rest of us. Also her spontaneity and her way of speaking her mind are very appealing.
David is a typical
hero, but not always. He’s a character who’s struggling against his very nature
trying to be pompous and conventional, and this makes him all the more humane and
believable. There is also a second love story going on between Circe’s chaperone,
Sally and one of Circe’s would-be suitors, Sir John. Suspense is there right from the
beginning of the book and is well integrated inside the love story. Nicole Byrd has taken
the various elements of comedy, tragedy, humor, suspense, and expertly weaved them all
together into a comprehensive, charming and witty narrative. This book is an automatic for
the keeper shelf and this is one author to watch out for.
Reviewed By
Rashmi Srinivas for The Road to Romance
February 4,
2003 |
