Mutual Consent: She takes a desperate gamble.

I have re-read Mutual Consent repeatedly since I first bought it. The hero and heroine are beautifully drawn, as are the incidental characters; the heroine's aunt, her father, the hero's mother and his close male friends. This is a marriage of convenience plot, and the couple's efforts to understand each other and the misunderstandings between them are very well done. Barbara Cribbage is honest, forthright and intelligent. The Earl of Chatworth is arrogant and powerful, yet his concern for his mother shows his vulnerable side. I highly recommend this book as well as any of Ms Buck's work. She does the arrogant, disdainful aristocrat to perfection, but the way her lady's finally appeal to their lord's better instincts is usually subtle and a surprise. Enjoy!