It's the Procurer's Turn
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Marguerite Kaye's A Scandalous Winter Wedding is the fourth in the Matches Made in
Scandal series and we once again join the Procurer. However, in this case it’s the Procurer’s turn to have her story. When we first meet the Procurer, she is still Kirstin Blair and she has just lost her father. I did question the use of the name Kirstin for this time period, but that just might be me. Anyway, Kirstin has just lost her father and she’s on her way to London to find some way of making a living for herself. On the road to London, she meets fellow traveler Cameron Dunbar and the two of them are instantly attracted to each other. They act upon that attraction, they have a grand night of passion and then they part. They have no regrets, and it is an encounter which both of them think they will remember fondly. Fast forward six years and both of them have successful careers. Kirstin has become the Procurer – the woman who solves unsolvable problems. Cameron goes on to build a large business in trade. Then Cameron’s half-sister and her maid disappear. Someone must find her, but the fact that she’s gone must never become known to society. Not knowing that the Procurer is the woman he bedded all those years ago, Cameron approaches the Procurer to solve his dilemma. All he knows is that the Procurer solves the unsolvable. As soon as Kirstin and Cameron are in the same room together again, the chemistry flares. The worlds they have created for themselves will never be the same. But first they must find his half-sister, and Kirstin must find a way to keep a secret from Cameron.
Cameron of course remembers Kirstin and their night of passion – he’s never really forgotten her. Kirstin never gets personally involved with her client’s problems – she has a crew which normally does the dirty work, but this time she decides to do the dirty work. She just cannot say no to this one.
Cameron and Kirstin were an interesting couple. They are written as fully-developed characters who work together really well. They blend together seamlessly whether they are working together to solve the case or building their own relationship. They are both mature, discerning people. Kirstin is the more logical of the two, while Cameron relies on his emotions. That doesn’t mean he was boo-hooing or hysterical, it just means that Kirstin was the more realistic of the two.
The secret. Spoiler. Kirstin’s secret is she has a child from her night of passion with Cameron, and she has raised her without any help. During the time she and Cameron are trying to find Phillippa and her maid, Kirstin does a whole lot of guilt-trip thinking. Cameron is no dummy. He knows there is something from her past she is not telling him. He starts to become suspicious of her, and one day he follows Kirstin to her home and watches as she embraces a young child – about six years old. Well, as I said, Cameron is no dummy, he’s got five fingers on each hand, and he can count. His first reaction is of betrayal, but then he calms down and becomes the most understanding guy in the whole world. When Kirstin finally gets around to telling him about their child, she is flummoxed by his reaction, by his acceptance, his understanding, and by his not holding a grudge. Did I find his reaction upon finding out he was a father believable? Yes. Did I like the way the whole secret child thing was handled? Yes – it was a nice change from other books which might have employed the big misunderstanding ploy. This was a nice change of pace.
I do recommend this story. For those of you who don’t like flashbacks, don’t worry. While there are flashbacks in this story, they do not get in the way of the narrative. Kirstin and Cameron were a complete, confident couple who didn’t resort to tired old clichés of blame-throwing. They respected each other, they understood each other, and they worked together. This was a very well-written second-chance romance.
Time/Place: Regency England/countryside
Sensuality:Warm/Hot
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