ONE NIGHT OF SCANDAL hooks me right from the
start with a strong heroine, Carlotta Anne Fairleigh, who is trying to make her debut into
society but first she must see if she can take a peek at the 'Murderous Marquess' next
door. What is supposed to be a short adventure becomes yet
another misadventure for the young woman.
Hayden St.
Clair, the Marquess of Oakleigh, mistakes Lottie for a lady of pleasure who he mistakenly
believes his best friend has sent him. A scandal of epic
proportions ensues. Lottie is purportedly ruined and barred from
finding a husband who will have her without prejudice. Her
brother-in-law, the Duke of Devonbrooke, attempts to redeem her honor by challenging St.
Clair to a duel, but Lottie, in her inestimable way, persuades St. Clair to avert disaster
by marrying her. After a hasty wedding, St. Clair takes Lottie far from her family and
friends to his home in Cornwall where she is forced to meet his first wife,
the woman all society says he murdered. His wife haunts not only
Hayden's heart but also that of his young and impressionable daughter's.
In ONE NIGHT
OF SCANDAL, Lottie appears, at first, to be a pampered young woman who is unfamiliar with
the wild ways of the world. Lottie is her own woman, something that is unusual for late
Regency England, and willingly gives her heart to Hayden who feels he cannot ever love
again. After all, he must live with the fact that he murdered his
first wife - or did he?
Ms.
Medeiros' historical romance is a delightful read from the first page to the last. It is the story of a woman who follows her ambitions in a society that
prefers to smother young women, instead of allowing them to bloom to their full potential. St. Clair comes across as a tormented man learning a valuable lesson
that only his second, and unwanted wife, can give him. Teresa
Medeiros' novels are a must read!
Reviewed
by Aurora Rose Lynn for The Road to Romance
December
4, 2003 |
