Lady in Waiting
By Marie Tremayne
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Reviewed by Janga




Clara Mayfield knows that helping her
sister Lucy elope with the man she loves, an ambitious, young tradesman, will
put her own social standing at risk, but the cost proves more than she
expected, more than she is prepared to pay. When even the Mayfield banking
fortune proves insufficient to balance out the scandal, her parents, determined
to see at least one daughter marry within their social class, accept the offer
of a lecherous, corrupt baron for Clara’s hand. Clara, repulsed and frightened
by the man, becomes a runaway bride. Disguised in her maid’s clothes, she
leaves home with directions to the estate where her maid’s sister works, Lawton
Park in Kent.
For eighteen months, William, Lord
Ashworth, has remained at his home in Kent recovering from the wounds, physical
and emotional, that he received in a carriage accident in which his father, his
elder brother, and his sister’s husband perished. He has come to London to reenter
society by attending a ball, but at the last minute, he cannot bring himself to
reenter a social scene where the new Earl of Ashworth will be the cynosure of
the ton eager to see how he is reacting to his grief and his new title. William
is tormented by nightmares of the horrific event and by flashbacks that leave
him shaken. He refuses to risk the gossips seeing him in that condition, and so
he retreats to his country estate.
Clara has chosen Lord Ashworth’s home as
the place where she will seek employment for two reasons. Her maid’s sister
will vouch for her as a deserving candidate to fill the position of housemaid,
and Ashworth has the reputation of being reclusive, so she is unlikely to
encounter anyone who knows her as Clara Mayfield. But it is not easy to lose
her identity and become Helen the maid. The work is hard, she misses her
family, and some of the servants are unfriendly. Then there is her awareness of
Lord Ashworth and her thoughts about what her life might have been like had she
met him as Clara Mayfield.
William consents reluctantly to hiring the
new maid. He is uncomfortable with his inappropriate but irresistible
attraction to her, but it only seems to intensify as he sees more of her. When
William’s young niece Rosa joins his household and quickly develops a fondness
for “Helen,” Clara becomes even more intimately involved with the family. It is
clear that both Clara and William have fallen heart over head, but only the
revelation of Clara’s identity can make a relationship between them possible.
Will William be able to forgive her deception?
Lady in Waiting, the first book
in the Reluctant Brides series, is Marie Tremayne’s debut novel. The book
suffers a bit from the dreaded sagging middle, but overall, it is a strong
first book. Clara and William are both sympathetic characters. I especially
appreciated that Clara is not a passive, poor-me heroine but rather one who acts
to save herself from the baron’s literal and figurative clutches. William is
not a cliché-ridden brooding hero, but a man dealing with physical and
emotional trauma and surviving as he can. The secondary characters, upstairs
and downstairs, have an attractive vitality. Rosa is a darling, and her widowed
mother, William’s sister Eliza, and William’s friend, Viscount Evanston, are an
appealing pair who will leave readers hungry for their story.
Marie Tremayne is an author to watch. If
you like historical romance that moves beyond London’s social scene and narrow
society, I think you will enjoy this book. If you, like me, are hooked on Eliza
and Evanston’s relationship, you will be pleased to know that their story, The Viscount Can Wait, will be released
August 14.
Sounds very good - thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI've had this on my radar for awhile now and look forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing Janga's review.
ReplyDeleteMarie is a new Author to me. This sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteShe's a new author to me but sounds like something I'd like.
ReplyDeleteNew author to me but it sure sounds good. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeletebeautiful cover
ReplyDeletedenise