The Code of Love
In her latest work, Sawyer (The Chase) charts the conflicted relationship between an aristocratic British intelligence officer and a beauty loyal to France during the Napoleonic era. Delphine Dalgleish encounters Sir Gideon Landor before and during his escape from Mauritius, in imminent danger of a British invasion. In the aftermath of Landor’s flight from the island – in a yacht stolen from Delphine’s cousin Armand – the Dalgleish plantation is given a British overseer. Delphine and her mother hasten to Paris to plead with Napoleon for its restoration. Impressed by the young woman, the emperor sends her to London to seek information about the person attempting to crack his secret code. Gideon is engaged in that very activity. Unaware that Delphine believes him to be a double agent, and therefore highly dishonorable, he is bemused by her hostility.
The eventual revelation of their covert activities cannot break their attraction for one another. But the past, her devious cousin Armand, and the war in the Peninsula threaten to separate them forever.
While descriptions of the protagonists’ physical awareness of each other is sometimes repetitive, Sawyer redeems herself by crafting a historical romance that focuses on character growth and intrigue rather then a series of bedroom scenes.
