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Maggie Delaney Grayson has finally found her husband. She thought he was dead, drowned after she pushed him into a river. She used her last bit of money to get to Grayson’s lodgings, only to have a complete stranger answer the door.
Captain John Grayson opens his lodging room door to find a very pregnant woman asking for him. When he tells her he is John Grayson, she reacts with shock, and then goes into labor. There is no time to go for a midwife, and he delivers her son on his floor. She is much too exhausted to explain her presence, and he sends for his cousin and wife to take charge of her. His cousin Harry & wife Tess take Maggie in when she confesses she has nowhere to live. Her entire family is dead, after drowning in a boating accident on a river, and she has nothing.
Maggie only knows she has to protect her beloved son, Sean. And when Tess, finds the marriage papers in Maggie’s belongings recording her marriage to Captain John Grayson, with a signature that surely is his, Tess and Harry take her to Summerton, John’s home. He and his father are estranged, and John has gone back to the Continent to rejoin his regiment. Maggie decides not to correct the mistake, staying at Summerton as John’s wife.
Two years pass before John returns home and sells his commission. When he
visits Harry, he learns that Maggie has been at Summerton the entire
time. He goes there to confront her. Maggie, in the meantime, has become
indispensable to the household.
John finds the whole situation appalling. Since John does not immediately denounce her as a fraud, Maggie has hope that perhaps things can be worked out. Maybe John will leave and let her stay as his “Improper Wife”. John instead suggests that he will allow her to remain if she agrees to allow him marital privileges.
The Improper Wife is a Regency romance with several twists. Diane Perkins
has written a tale of mistaken identity in such a way that two flawed
people can win over the reader’s heart. Maggie believes she murdered her
false husband, and will do anything to protect Sean. John feels quite
abused by this imposter’s daring in remaining in his ancestral home,
when he has been banished from it himself.
Both Maggie and John come across as sympathetic characters. They have both suffered great losses, and are doing whatever they can to survive. As they work through their differences and fall in love,
events happen that threaten everything.
This book was so engrossing, I read it through in one sitting, and plan to re-read it as well. The detail is lush, giving this reader a sense of being present in the scene. The dialogue is realistic for the time period without being stuffy. The description of Lord Summerton’s dementia is clear without overstating it. And I was swept away in the romance between John and Maggie. The love scenes are appropriate to the story and steamy. John’s sense of honor is so important to him, yet he sacrifices it for Maggie’s reputation. This book is an absolute keeper. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a Regency with depth of character and a love story with a heart.
It is my pleasure to award this book a Reviewer’s Choice.
Reviewed by Nancy Riggins-Hume
for The Road to Romance
October 27, 2004
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