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(More customer reviews)In this first installment of the story of the Bedwyn family, Mary Balogh takes a plot line that has been used hundreds of times before--the marriage of convenience--and somehow makes it seem fresh and new. This is the story of Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn, second son of the late Duke of Bewcastle and brother to the current Duke, whose devotion to duty and honor leads him to find love in a most unexpected place. On a dusty battlefield in France, he promises the dying Captain Percy Morris to do "whatever it takes" to protect the Captain's sister, Eve Morris. When Aidan takes the news of her brother's death to Eve, he discovers that she and her "lame ducks," a menagerie consisting of two orphaned children, an impoverished aunt, a lame dog, and a houseful of unusual servants that no one would else would hire, are about to be turned out onto the streets by Eve's slimy cousin, Cecil. In order to do "whatever it takes" to honor his vow to a dying man, Aidan persuades Eve to agree to a marriage of convenience to save her home and inheritance under a clause of her father's will. Eve feels that she has no choice but to accept Aidan's offer, despite the fact that she is in love with a neighbor who is in the diplomatic service and whom she has been expecting home "any day." What neither Aidan nor Eve can forsee is that, by marrying, Eve will inextricably become part of the Bedwyn clan, overseen by Aidan's brother, the imperious Duke of Bedwyn, and that Aidan will just as inextricably become part of Eve's menagerie of "lame ducks." This is a brilliant and beautifully written story of two very different people--different in temperment, station, and experience--who gradually come to know, appreciate and love each other. Like the talented artist that she is, Mary Balogh does not tell us who these characters are, she lets us discover them for outselves, through their words and their deeds. Aidan and Eve grow more beautiful to the reader with each passing page, just as they appear more and more beautiful and wonderful to each other as they reluctantly begin to fall in love. This novel is a work of great art and great heart, and I am eagerly awaiting the next two novels in the series. Bravo, Mary!
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