Shana Galen, Pride and Petticoats

Pride and Petticoats

Shana Galen

Avon, Feb 2006, $5.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0060773162

In 1813, American Charlotte Burton arrives in London to see hometown friend Cade Pettigru, and to save her family firm, Burton Shipping, which is in near ruin due to her father's gambling and womanizing, and now the death of her sire and her brother caught smuggling. Several men burst into Cade's room; he kills one before fleeing. Cousins Sir Sebastian Middleton and Lord Alfred "Freddie" Dewhurst take Charlotte prisoner until they can figure out where she fits in this espionage case.

Freddie, who is immediately attracted to the Yank, insists that Cade stole coded messages that he plans to sell to the French if he obtains the code definitions. His Foreign Office boss Lord Edwards directs Freddie to pretend he married the colonist so they can use her as bait to catch Cade. Freddie says no one would believe a dandy like him would marry an uncouth Yank, but agrees to try it. Charlotte agrees when he offers her money, and the chance to prove Cade is innocent.

They make the perfect couple. She scorns his heritage and he knocks American freedom limited to white males. At breakfast Freddie tells Charlotte he is her master, so she dumps coffee on his lap. As his mom screams annulment, the combatants fall in love, but Cade remains a thorny issue between them.

The sequel to when DASHING MET DANGER is a superb Regency romance due to the strong lead couple and interesting multifaceted perspectives on the War of 1812. The storyline is at its best whenever the prime duo tears down the other's most sacred institutions with simple logic. Though the anticipated confrontation with Cade is anti-climatic, fans will enjoy the boudoir War of 1812.