The Undoing of a Lady

Already reviewed this writer. All I can say is READ HER WORK if you like romance novels.

Village squire Sir Montague Fortune reinstated the medieval Dames' Tax which allows him to take half the dowry of every unmarried woman in the village unless she weds within the year. This is the last book of the series Lady Elizabeth Scarlet story. Elizabeth kidnaps Nathaniel the night before his wedding. Elizabeth & Nathaniel have a love/hate realationship and both drive each other crazy... some of the things Elizabeth does even made be gasp and then laugh... Very entertaining, dash of mystery and leave you wanted more stories from this little village.

Nathaniel Waterhouse lived his life with honor, grace and allot of following the rules. He took his position in society as serious and wore the title of Earl with respect. His friend for nine years Lady Elizabeth Scarlet was the flip side of this coin. She was a hoyden who had little respect for honor, stature of any position nor any desire to follow rules as they were meant to be broken - every last one of them. When her mother deserted her and then her father died she has lived an unstructured and undisciplined life with her half-brothers and they let her run amuck. But one thing Lizzie has always taken seriously is her feeling for Nat and the love she has felt for him since their first meeting even though she was just a child. She has always kept these feelings hidden from him for fear of rejection but knew that they were meant to be together even though she feigned otherwise. So when Nat decides to enter into a loveless marriage to a woman with a fortune that will free him and his family from debt Lizzie decides to take matters into her own hands to prevent this. She pushes her plan of action into effect on the eve of his wedding by asking him to meet with her in a secluded location. Lizzie knows he will come because he always does when she requests it. But after he shows up and she imprisons him until after the wedding a chain of events she never expected occur. Lizzie finds herself compromised by Nat, his marriage called off and herself trapped into a marriage with Nat she was not prepared for. They light up the night with their passion and intense lust for each other but can that keep the fire burning through the years. Lizzie is not convinced of this but Nat is sure she is his perfect match. Then Lizzie's brother is murdered and everyone becomes a suspect and wonders who did this terrible thing and if anyone might will be next. Monty was not loved by the village due to his reinstatement of the Dames' Tax but is that enough to provoke someone to murder him? Nat has always been the protector of Lizzie and this tragedy forces him to try even harder to get her under control which only results in Lizzie acting more inappropriately and doing such outlandish things that no can believe how brash she is. This story is a complete and total delight on every page. You have Nat and Lizzie knocking heads at every instance with this intense and overpowering passion, the underlying mystery of who murdered Monty and all the high drama of how the village is going to combat the latest tax scheme. These characters are so endearing and true to form that you are rooting for them to succeed at their individual successes as well as the chance to figure out that they love each other and get on with it already. The back story with Lydia is a tear jerker as you know this woman deserves better than she is getting but all the friends (Alice & Laura) pull together to show that even in the Regency period of time women were strong enough to run t

In 1810 Lady Elizabeth "Lizzie" Scarlett is concerned that her childhood friend Lord Nathaniel Waterhouse is marrying someone he does not love out of a sense of duty. She knows Nat has always been there for her so she decides to be there for him even if he does not appreciate what she does. She kidnaps him to keep him from marrying Miss Flora Minchin of Fortune's Folly as this is no love match with his title in exchange for her money. Lizzie's attempts to seduce Nat lead to their being compromised. Nat breaks off his engagement, but needs money to pay off a blackmailer. His solution is to marry wealthy Lizzie, which he does. However, though both feel a deep desire for the other and passion blazes between them, neither trusts the other any longer and pride leaves bot hiding their love out of fear of rejection. Although similar in tone to the previous Brides of Fortune series (see THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUCHESS and THE SCANDALS OF THE INNOCENT) especially the lead characters, fans will enjoy this charming regency romance. The amusing story line starts off with a terrific opening abduction by an innocent woman who is seduced by her angry captive leading to THE UNDOING OF A LADY now in love. Fans will enjoy the gender war as neither seems to have the guts to tell the other how they feel. Harriet Klausner