The Improper Wife

Setting - London, 1816 --- Very pregnant, alone, and nearly penniless Maggie Delaney was at the end of her rope when she discovered that she had not killed the husband she'd accidentally pushed into the river. From a newspaper she learned that her husband Captain John Grayson was alive and living in London. Maggie discovered his direction, marched up to the door and asked the handsome but scruffy looking man who answered the door if these were the rooms of Captain John Grayson, who answered in the affirmative. Then she asked when he would be returning. John Grayson insisted he was the man in question and that these were HIS rooms. Maggie, quickly realizing how she'd been duped was overcome with both shock and contractions and before you knew it, John was assisting her in the delivery of her child in that very room! When Maggie realized she'd no idea who the man was she'd given herself to in marriage and impregnated her, one would imagine her breaking down - but only a mother would recognize the strength of purpose and love that was born the moment she embraced the miracle that was her son. John was in awe of that bond and the pure essence of the love she showered onto her babe. While John didn't want to be involved and anxious to get back to his regiment, he was not immune to her needs and arranged for his cousins to come and take her to their home. Leaving funds with his cousin for her care and feeling he had done more than was his duty, John happily left only to return two years later to discover that his `helpful' cousins had installed his `wife' in his boyhood home of Summerton. In those two years, Maggie had ingratiated herself in the good graces of his family. Gray's first instinct was to get rid of the baggage but the more time spent with her, the more he was convinced that this very `improper' wife of his should be a real wife in truth! *** Diane Perkins has created a beautifully written, emotionally sensitive and totally awesome romantic read devising a most original and cleverly plotted second chance at love. Maggie was a very strong heroine and while some would reason that she was manipulative, others can totally empathize that she was motivated solely with, and for the sake of love for Sean, her young son. While John suspected her motives as calculating and manipulative he soon realized that she had brought joy and love back to a home that had been sorely lacking for years. The story gently evolves into a sensual dance that the readers will find themselves fully basking in its rhythm and grace. The addition of an endearing cast of secondary characters, particularly the child Sean and his cousin Rodney, only make this dance more memorable with gentle humor and a gracious warmth. ---- Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

I don't often fall in love with my romance novel heroes, but WOW... Capt. John Grayson, called Gray, is to DIE FOR... The love story is beautiful, the plot is fabulous, her writing is lovely. What an incredible book!!! I will be reading EVERYTHING she writes. I just started THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M (a Regency romance she published as Diane Gaston w/a UK publisher only last July and it's already out of print, what a crime!!) , and it's promising to be every bit as satisfying and potent as THE IMPROPER WIFE, which I read a week ago, and I cannot get it out of my mind. It's that powerful. Gray and Maggie, the two main characters, are both strong and believable. The plot has already been told in other reviews here. I can't stress enough how wonderful it was to read this!! (BTW, I disagree completely with the Publishers Weekly review of this book. I can't believe how negative it is...were they reading a different novel?)

Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly make room; there is a new kid on the Regency block. I don't give it very often, but I'm giving it here - the sacred 10. THE IMPROPER WIFE is a beautiful story and Diane Perkins has honed her craft nicely. Her characters are well drawn and the story's sensitivity is brilliant. Yes, I liked this book. Maggie Delaney is a sparkling heroine. She unfolds through the pages as a gentle loving mother. Maggie Delaney would do anything to protect her son - even lie. Captain John Grayson is a marvelous hero. He unfolds through the pages as a gentle man. John Grayson believes Maggie Delaney has deceived him, but the question is - why? Diane Perkins creates Maggie Delaney as a strong, capable woman. The reader will not find a sniffling little creature in this story. Maggie Delaney is living under a huge misrepresentation at Summerton Hall, the country estate belonging to John Grayson's father. The old earl believes Maggie Delaney is his son's wife. At Summerton Hall, everyone loves Maggie Delaney and her chubby little son, Sean. All is well, until Captain John Grayson returns home to England and to Summerton. Diane Perkins has used superb pacing, realistic dialogue, and gentle humor to enhance THE IMPROPER WIFE. The episodes with little Sean are simply delightful! However it is the sensitivity the author applies that lifts her story into the reader's heart. Such a ploy is a brilliant move; it causes the reader to turn the pages with zeal. The results? The reader cannot put the book down! Well done, Ms. Perkins. Grade: A+ MaryGrace Meloche.

Coincidence or fate? Only destiny can bring lovers together... When Maggies arrives at her husband's rooms, the birth of her baby is imminent. Fortunately a dark haired, unshaved man is able to assist her with the delivery of her son. The man reeks of alcohol and is quite disturbing, but she has no one else to turn to. She asks where her husband, Captain John Grayson has gone to, and is shocked when he replies that he is John Grayson. Maggie is devastated when she gradually comes to understand that she has been duped; she has no true husband and therefore no home for her baby. Maggie and her baby are sent home with Gray's cousin, Harry and his wife, Tess, to avoid a scandal. Gray gives Harry money to assist the woman and washes his hands of her. A military posting keeps him occupied for the next two years. Harry and Tess had wrongly assumed that Maggie was Gray's wife and took her to the family home, Summerton Hall. Maggie knew what she dared to do was wrong. She had always intended to end the charade and find work as soon as the babe was older, but came to love Gray's family. Maggie felt needed and appreciated; her warmth and understanding ways lifted the spirits of Gray's father, the Earl, his widowed sister-in-law, Olivia and her son, Rodney. Suddenly, it appears that her future is again bleak. Gray has returned and he is furious, if only she can explain, maybe he will understand. The Earl disowned Gray when he joined the military, yet this woman, who pretends to be his wife, is loved and accepted where Gray is not. She is still undeniably attractive and genteel, but he knows her to be false. Gray is not a fool; Maggie's positive affect on the smooth running of the household is obvious. He can see the benefits of making her his wife in all ways, but he intends that Maggie reveal her secrets before he will accept her. The cruel trick played on Maggie years ago resurfaces to tear apart her new life, taking her away from the man and extended family that she has come to love. Maggie knows that Gray will never love her if she reveals all, but he is determined to drag it out of her. The Improper Wife is a must-buy for Historical fans. The unique character introduction, in which the heroine gives birth, is only a small sample of Diane Perkins' very intricate plot. Readers will find that they are turning pages deep into the night, as they are made aware of a secret. This knowledge keeps a very strong undercurrent of tension running right until the final chapters. Maggie is a woman that this reader came to admire. She stuck to her principles and held her head high, not revealing her insecurities and deep devotion for Gray. She knows that she has wronged him and should not stay; yet it would break her heart to leave. In hindsight, Gray was attracted to Maggie from their first undignified meeting. He behaves as best as he can under their circumstances and is careful not to cause Maggie any more pain or embarrassment. His desire for her is acute, bu

Diane Perkins brings an interesting, intriguing twist to the "marriage of convenience" theme in her first U.S. release, THE IMPROPER WIFE. Captain John Grayson, known to his friends as Gray, is a man of means - but is also a haunted man. Gray was disowned by his father when he decided to enlist. He drinks himself to sleep each night, trying to forget his young, pregnant wife who died. Despite his best attempts, visions of her tragic death haunt his dreams. One morning, he's awakened by a pounding on his door and opens it to find a lovely, but obviously pregnant woman asking for Captain Grayson. Before he can clarify the obvious error, her child insists on being born, almost immediately. Gray has little choice but to help her deliver her baby boy. Maggie Delaney believes she has murdered her husband, Captain John Grayson, when she pushed him into a river during an altercation. Alone, pregnant and left with minimal funds, she struggles to survive - until she reads in a discarded paper that Captain Grayson has returned to London. Surprised that her husband is still alive, she learns his whereabouts from the Regimental offices, and then rushes to his quarters, only to be told by a man whose dark looks remind her of a pirate that he is Captain John Grayson. She has little time to pursue the man's lies when her baby insists on being born. And until she discovers the truth behind Gray's lies, she provides a false identity, that of Maggie Smith. After the child's birth, Maggie continues to insist that she is Captain Grayson's wife. Annoyed, yet reminded of his personal loss as he watches her hold her new baby son, Gray doesn't have the heart to send her away. Instead, he places her in the charge of his cousin Harry and Harry's wife, Baroness Tess Caufield, with instructions for Tess to deliver Maggie back to her proper home, wherever that might be. He leaves funds with Harry for Maggie's intermediate care, then returns to duty. Harry and Tess find Gray's request somewhat suspect. Who wouldn't, when the young, beautiful female he claims is a stranger is holding an infant? They take her to their home and, as Tess helps Maggie unpack, she finds papers revealing the marriage of Maggie Delaney to John Grayson. Now convinced that Gray has deserted his wife and child, Harry and Tess decide to take Maggie and her infant to Gray's family estate and Gray's father, Lord Summerton. Maggie, homeless and alone, agrees for the sake of her son. Gray returns to London, only to discover that Maggie is at his family estate and has insinuated herself in his family's lives. Has she does this for financial gain? Or is she really the caring person she pretends to be? Gray resolves to discover the truth behind these questions - and more. THE IMPROPER WIFE is a fast-paced, captivating, not-to-be-missed Regency novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense in the story, the fully developed characters. Maggie's pain, her determination to provide her son - her only livin