It’s the return of the word “sat”
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I previously mentioned, after I read Virginia Heath’s The Disgraceful Lord Gray I would
probably read another of her books. Remember, I like to live dangerously and try to decipher UK English. So, I decided to do some back-tracking and read the other books in her Kings Elite series, starting with The Mysterious Lord Millcroft. Once again, I ran into UK English, but this time I was prepared. This time, I was not kicked out of the story. See, preparation is everything.Sebastian Leatham is one of the King’s Elite, and he’s shy. When we first encounter him in this book, he is recovering from a gunshot injury at the home of Doctor Joe Warriner. Evidently, there is a Warriner series, which I have not read. Anyway, he is quietly resting, when into his room pops another character from the Warriner series, Lady Clarissa Beaumont. (The Warriner's must have been pretty busy. Perhaps, I started with the wrong series.) Evidently, Clarissa is beyond beautiful, and a little stuck on herself. She has rushed to her sister’s house. You see, she is in a panic because she is not wed yet. OMG! In her twenties, and not married! Of course, Sebastian is tongue-tied by the sight of her. He is very, very clumsy when it comes to talking to women. Could be any kind of female; a heifer would make him nervous as far as I know. Sebastian and Clarissa spend some uncomfortable, embarrassing time together. She enjoys his embarrassment, just loves to see his ears turn red. I gave her a bad mark for her enjoyment of his shyness. Anyway, they spend some time together. Then they are off, her to storm London and he to do some more spying.
There is a plot line which threads through this series: the hunt for The Boss. The Boss is a smuggler-Napoleon supporter, and the King’s Elite is chasing The Boss. This may have been a thread in the Warriner series, but I don’t know. Can’t say I’m extremely fond of someone being called the “boss.” Sometimes I think I’m tooooo picky. Could be I just like to whine.
I was actually quite fond of Sebastian, but there were some moments in this story that were just a teensy-weensy implausible. Let’s start with the brains of the King’s Elite, Sebastian’s superior. For some reason, shy Sebastian is given the assignment of going to a party and pretending to be a happy-go-lucky-man-about town. He is given a false identity and told to be social. Being a shy person myself, I know I would never be able to pull off any kind of social activity - unless, I had 50 gazillion Margarita’s before hand. Then I would just probably do a dance and fall to the floor unconscious. So, for me, accepting shy-see-my-ears-turn-red Sebastian as a man-about-town was a bit of a stretch. I also had a hard time accepting that a spymaster would take the chance of putting someone so unqualified into that position. But hey, this is Romanceland, and everything is possible there.
The other little implausible moment was with Clarissa. Clarissa shows up at the house party – sans chaperone. Maybe I am wrong, but I was of the belief that an unmarried aristocratic woman would not go to a social gathering without some kind of chaperone. Oh sure, she had a maid, but a maid is for the carriage ride, not the party. I do not believe maids were allowed to mingle with the guests; that’s what companions were for, or unpaid relatives, or mothers, or sisters, but Clarissa had none. But, what do I say my little Petunias? This is Romanceland, and everything is possible.
Anyway, Sebastian and Clarissa are both at the party. He is going to catch a spy-smuggler, and she is going to catch a husband. But, Sebastian has a itty-bitty problem – Clarissa knows his real name. The two of them come up with an idea, one which I could see coming. They form a partnership. She will help him maintain his facade. She even concocts some wilder stories of his false identity to feed the partygoers. He will help her in her endeavors to catch a husband, the boring Duke of Westbridge. Their silly plan works, everyone, including the villains, think Sebastian is the cat’s-meow, and Westbridge becomes jealous and proposes. However, by then Clarissa realizes that she is in luv-lust with Sebastian and turns Westbridge down. Clarissa also decides that she wants to be a spy-help-mate to Sebastian. Yes, Clarissa and Sebastian will become a husband and wife spy team. I do realize, my little Petunias, how silly this may sound, but actually, the entire story was rather endearing. Even with the goofy schemes, and an implausible plot, I enjoyed this story. I liked Sebastian a lot, and even though I did not care for Clarissa in the beginning, I thought she turned out to be a great choice for Sebastian.
Even with the biiiggggg stretch of believability in this story, I do recommend it. The Mysterious Lord Millcroft was fun.
Time/Place: Early 1800s England
Sensuality: Warm
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