A typical Heyer romance with everyone looking in the wrong direction until they get straightened out in the happy(?) ending. Lots of witty dialogue and interesting characters.
re-read 12/7/2023 ( )

paperback

The Earl of Spenborough has always been noted for his eccentricity. Leaving Fanny, a widow younger than his own daughter Serena is one thing, but quite another is leaving his daughter's fortune to the trusteeship of Ivo Barrasford, marquis of Rotherham -- a man whom Serena once jilted and who now has the power to give or withhold his consent to any marriage she might contemplate. Lady Serena Carlow is an acknowledged beauty, many eager suitors have vied for her hand, but she's got a temper as fiery as her head of red hair. When her father dies unexpectedly, Serena discovers to her horror that she has been left a ward of the odious Lord Rotherham. Serena raged as she heard her father's last will and testament! How could he tie his only daughter to Lord Rotherham, making the very man she had recently jilted caretaker of her inheritance and her heart? ( )

Interestingly political... Until it turned into a romance during the last 30 pages. ( )

A love tangle that takes place in Bath, where Serena and her stepmother Fanny go to stay after the unexpected death of Serena’s father, the 5th Earl of Spenborough. It’s fairly obvious who will end up with whom when the music stops, but I found that an entertaining amount of predictability, because it isn’t obvious what will happen in the interim and I enjoyed spending time with these characters.

I particularly liked that Serena and Fanny cared a lot about each other, in spite of their different temperaments (and the potential awkwardness of Fanny being a few years younger than Serena). Serena is confident and fiery; her father brought her up to hunt, host political parties and involve herself in managing his estate, and because of his encouragement and position in society, Serena hasn’t worried about other people considering her choices unconventional. Fanny is quieter and more interested in domestic details; her main motivation for marrying a man over twice her age seems to be that it offered an escape from her family of origin, and she has more understanding than Serena does of the difficulties of having limited choices.

I also liked how the novel portrayed Serena’s grief -- she’s very defensive of anything that feels like criticism of her father.

The ending didn’t quite hit all the notes I thought it needed to, but on the whole, it was satisfying.

The old lady chuckled richly, all her chins quivering. “Ay, so I am, and I’ll be bound you know it because you asked someone who the deuce that old fright could be, dressed in a gown with panniers!”
“I did ask who you might be, but I did not so describe you!” instantly responded Serena.
“Lord, I wouldn’t blame you! I’d look a worse fright if I was to stuff myself into one of these newfangled gowns you all wear nowadays, with a waist under my armpits and skirt as straight as a candle! All very well for you, my lady, with the lovely slim figure you have, but I’ll tell you what I’d look like, and that’s a sack of meal, with a string tied around it! Ay, that makes you laugh [...]” ( )