Gather Ye Rosebuds

Joan Smith wrote Regency romance novels as far back in time as 1977. I have never read a Joan Smith romance that I did not enjoy. Like Georgette Heyer, her books are all keepers. Somehow, I have misplaced my copy so I am buying a new one. Zoe, who in Regency times is old enough to be considered a spinster, lives with her widowed mother on a small estate next to the large estate of Lord Weylin, whose family is extremely wealthy and extremely snobbish. Zoe is an artist. She decides that the tower room where her maternal Irish uncle used to live will be perfect as a studio for her. While clearing out the room to prepare it for painting, she finds a necklace, one that she recognizes as belonging to Lord Weylin's family. How did her uncle come to have this necklace? There is only one thing to do, she must visit Lord Weylin's mother (a very indolent woman who dotes on her obnoxious dog) and stash the necklace somewhere to be found by Lord Weylin's family later. When she arrives for her visit, Lord Weylin happens to be home. He is very suspicious by this sudden visit from a neighbor he hardly knows (he hardly knows any of his neighbors, most are so far below him socially). He catches Zoe in the room where he keeps his collection of valuable Chinese vases (she is thinking of dropping the necklace in a vase). He thinks she is trying to steal one of his vases and demands to see what she is hiding behind her back. He too recognizes the necklace which has been missing from his family for a long time. The mystery of how Zoe's uncle came to possess the necklace intrigues both Zoe and Lord Weylin (for different reasons). Both proceed, at first independently, to investigate the history of the necklace and discover the truth. There are some hilarious scenes during the hunt to track down how her uncle came to possess the necklace. The main characters, Zoe and Lord Weylin, are drawn well as they always are in Joan Smith's romance novels. Zoe is charming from page 1. The reader, along with Zoe, learns to like Lord Weylin very well (who starts out quite dislikeable). The supporting characters in the plot are well drawn and amusing too, especially Zoe's mother and her housekeeper. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Lord Weylin asks Zoe to meet him in her family's rose garden. Zoe dresses carefully, eagerly anticipating this romantic night meeting under the stars. When Lord Weylin arrives by horse and sits on the bench with her, she thinks he might kiss her -- instead he starts smelling his jacket to see if he smells of horse sweat. The repartee between Zoe and Lord Weylin throughout the novel is delightful.

One of my absolute favorite Joan Smith books-- this one is a keeper! While arranging her new studio, Zoie finds a valuable stolen necklace secreted in her late uncle's belongings-- and makes the mistake of trying to return it to the rightful owner. Lord Weylin catches her trying to sneak the necklace back, and so begins a delightful search for the meaning behind this mystery. Excellent characters like Mrs. Brodagan ("Mrs. Brodagan had never known marital bliss, for which every bachelor in Christendom should get down on his knees and thank the Almighty.") populate the book, and the growing romance between Weylin and Zoie is delightful, zany, and full of the witty dialogue for which Joan Smith is famous.