The Daughter of an Earl
In the early 1820s, Lady Emily Chandler is still grieving the loss of her fiancé four years before. She appeals to Jason’s co-worker at the East India Company, Lawrence Drummond, to help her find proof that Jason’s death was not accidental. When Drummond advises her to leave the past alone and makes advances, American shipping magnate and family friend Brett Curtis intervenes. He cautions Emily about the dangers of opposing the EIC, but she is determined, and reluctantly agrees to his terms: that she not pursue the inquiry without him. Such togetherness naturally leads to romance, and they heat up the bedroom during the course of their investigation.
Morgan gives a plausible reason for keeping the couple apart at first: Emily believes no one will want her because the depths of her grief must mean there is madness in her blood. Brett is an incredibly unselfish lover, and fits the genre’s strong and handsome mold. The villain is telegraphed long in advance, so the mystery element isn’t that suspenseful. Some too-early-for-the-period Americanisms, such as “flunking out” and “stuck with,” are uttered by British characters, which may jar readers out of the past. Yet fans of the genre who don’t mind those minor drawbacks will still like this historical romance.
