The third book in Mary Lancaster’s Regency Romance series, The Duel, is Deserted.
Deserted continues the story of the family (and acquaintances) of the late Duke of Cuttyngham, a nasty character who was killed in a duel. Or was he? Mystery swirls through the series, as it seems that the duke’s opponent’s bullet was not what killed him. The duke’s second, the Earl of Frostbrook, is one of the men looking into the case.
Frostbrook comes to Cuttyngham to speak with the new duke. While there, he comes across Miss Sophia Wallace, the duchess’ companion. They have met before, under circumstances that are no credit to either of them. But at second meeting, their interest in each other is rekindled in a way that holds more promise.
Sophia has had a hard life. After the death of her parents, she was taken in by a cousin whose family misused her, treating her worse than a servant. She escaped from them to join the newly widowed duchess. But when the duchess leaves for Brussels, Sophia finds herself prey, once again, to her cousin’s grasping plots.
Frostbrook has a plot too. Tired of his mother’s aggressive matchmaking, he wishes to attend her latest country house party with a pretend fiancee in tow. Because he and Sophia have a nascent friendship, (and, as a noted rake, he has no other lady friends) he convinces Sophia to play the part.
As is typical in the fake-courtship trope, love blossoms between them. But they have only begun to face their hurdles. There is still the increasingly desperate cousin to thwart.
Sophia and Frostbrook are well-crafted protagonists, both resilient yet vulnerable. The love between them is convincing as is their slow-building passion. But what truly makes this a delightful read is the witty banter between them. I eagerly await the next book in the series and hope to learn what (and who) actually killed the duke.
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