Lady Amelia Willoughby has been engaged to be married to the Duke of Wyndham since infancy.   However, at the ripe old age of 21, she’s beginning to tire of the Duke’s lack of interest in completing his contractual duty to marry her, let alone his lack of interest in getting to know his future bride.

A kiss stolen in the moonlight begins to change everything.   Lady Amelia realizes that perhaps her Duke, Thomas Cavendish, isn’t so disinterested after all.  Just when things start moving the right direction, a surprise visitor could upset the life she thought she’d someday have and change everything.  The revelation brings new meaning to the title of the book, “Mr. Cavendish, I Presume.”  Now, with the introduction of a mysterious stranger, the title has multiple meanings to the reader.

For me, this book didn’t start to become interesting until I was approximately a third of the way through.  However, once there, I was avidly interested in the resolution to the problem at hand.  I vacillated between rooting for the two main male characters and poor beloved Amelia, who was contractually bound to marry the Duke of Wyndham, whoever that may be.

After the plot began to become quicker paced and the characters began to face the problem and not avoid it, “Mr. Cavendish, I Presume” became a much more enjoyable read.  The scene giving the reader resolution was well done.  Though I rooted for each man throughout much of the novel, I was not disappointed when the real Duke of Wyndham was revealed.

April 16, 2009