The Wicked Wager

I loved the hero and heroine of this novel. Lady Olivia Dunbar was beautiful and a bit snobby! There isn't a man alive that won't succumb to her flirtations. A thoughtless wager ensues and she sets her sights on Lord Ramsay. Lord Ramsay appears to be a bit reclusive and countrified. Needless to say, though he is intrigued with Olivia in London - enough to visit Weston for a new wardrobe, he manages to escape unscathed. What a set down for Olivia who decides the wager should be cancelled. She sets out with her cousins for their estate in Northcumberland where Lord Ramsay just happens to live. There she is pursued by the obnoxious Squire Malvern. She also learns of the true nature of Lord Ramsay who helps her out of a few scrapes. Our hero is a wonderful uncle to his ward Geordie and friend to his scholarly tutor in addition to being a historian. He cares for animals and people, yet is human with foibles of his own. Olivia matures as she experiences love for the first time and with that love growing between Olivia and Gervas (Lord Ramsay) all appears to point to a rosy future. But Squire Malvern doesn't like being spurned and finding out about the earlier wager, he sets out to do mischief by informing Lord Ramsay of it. Lord Ramsay is outraged and hurt and any alliance with Olivia is at an end. Will there be a happy ending? Each character was described in detail and seemed realistic. Nothing is glossed over! You will enjoy meeting Olivia's brother, sister-in-law, cousin and his wife so much. They come alive in the pages with all the emotions of jealousy, anger and love. You feel for Lord Ramsay who because of a limp and dislike of hunting was deemed weak by the local gentry. He is far from weak. You grow with Olivia as she evaluates her life along the way, finds herself lacking and strives to do better. Great reading; emotional story and delightful ending. A keeper!