Catherine Palmer, The Bachelor’s Bargain

The Bachelor's Bargain

Catherine Palmer

Tyndale, October 2006, $12.99

ISBN: 0842319298

In 1815 Devon, England, servant Anne Webster desperately hopes to sell the Honiton lace to her employer Alexander Chouteau, son of an earl, so that she can use the money to hire a barrister to represent her incarcerated father. His crime was supporting the Luddites who complained about working conditions before rioting. However, after a prayer for help, though she knows God is aware of her family's predicament, but before she can offer her wares, his long thought dead brother, the Marquess of Blackthorne and the actual heir to the earldom, has come home.

Ruel Chouteau assumes no woman would marry an adventuress rogue like him, but wants to keep the mothers from throwing their singles at him so he proposes to Anne to prove his worthlessness, but before she can respond she is accidentally shot and is apparently dying. On her death bed she accepts his offer thinking he would have to help her family as honor dictates he does. However, to their shock, Anne miraculously recovers, forcing the duo to face marital survival as the tabloids look forward to much scandal from them.

The sequel to THE AFFECTIONATE ADVERSARY (the link being Society Tattler Miss Pickworth) is an intelligent Regency romance starring a strong support cast and two interesting obstinate lead protagonists. The storyline is action-packed, but driven by the lead pair, as she needs his wealth and power to assist her father and her family, while he sees her skill with silk as a means for his future. Fans will appreciate Catherine Palmer's fast-paced one sitting historical.