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Chase St. John didn’t mean to get himself into such a mess. But, in order not to embarrass the St. John name, he is determined to get himself out of it. Well, if there were any way to get out of it, that is. Unfortunately, once you’ve run down an innocent woman with your carriage, it is rather hard to bring her back from the dead. Given that fact, Chase is going to do the only thing he can do to save the St. John name – leave the country.
As hard as it will be for Chase to leave everything that he holds dear behind – friends, family and country – he is dead-set on doing the right thing. However, fate – or the St. John talisman - has other ideas for him.
The Ward family is in trouble. Dire, financial trouble to be exact. If only the bank would see fit to grant them a bit more time to come up with the money to pay on their estate. Harriet Ward is certain that her latest venture – sheep farming – will provide the badly needed funds. She just has to find a way to get the wool to market. But, before she can do that, one particularly annoying bank official demands repayment.
Harriet’s mother invents a fictitious fiancée for Harriet in order to buy them more time. And, as the rumors of the wealthy Captain John Frankenham begin to circulate through the locals, Chase St. John just happens to be waylaid beside the very same road that Harriet and her sisters are traveling. After being handily “rescued” by the brash females, he is carted home with them. St. John then confesses to a bad case of amnesia, which results in a whole different set of problems for him.
Soon Harriet’s mother has poor St. John posing as the nonexistent Captain, mucking about with sheep, working like a common laborer and generally learning how to live a good and honest life again.
This romantic tale, with its humorous bent and entertaining storyline, will have readers laughing along with the characters. Chase is an excellently written hero: strong, good-loooking, rich and just a bit naughty. Harriet is the consummate heroine – despite the unromantic name. Ms. Hawkins has created some truly remarkable secondary characters as well. Harriet’s mother gives new meaning to the term meddlesome and enhances the story with her funny foibles. The setting is well written and the plot, though a bit superficial, flows well from beginning to end.
All in all, How to Treat a Lady is a delightful read: entertaining, funny and romantic. Readers fond of a nice light-hearted historical will love How to Treat a Lady and find themselves waiting anxiously for the next book in the St. John series.
Reviewed by Janean Nusz
for The Road to Romance
April 26, 2004
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