Four in Hand by Stephanie Laurens. Regency.
Jul 6, 2023 17:31:25 GMT -7
Banana Boat, bj, and 3 more like this
Post by mlover on Jul 6, 2023 17:31:25 GMT -7
I read this for the 4th time?
SOME SPOLIERS below.
Max became a duke upon the death of his Uncle Henry. Henry agreed to become the Guardian
of his friend's 4 daughters: Caroline, Sarah, Arabella, & Lizzie, each now respectively 25, 20,
19, & 18. Caro acted as a mother figure to these three half-sisters. The father of the 4 young
ladies had died 18 mos. ago. & Henry died 3 mos. ago. The 4 ladies visited American relatives,
before returning home. So would Max take on the Guardian role in place of Henry?
All 4 of the ladies were smart, stunning in face & form & heiresses. Father's will said upon the
age of 25 or upon marriage, each daughter would no longer need a Guardian. Max & his solicitor
thought it was OK to keep Caro in the dark concerning this provision. Max reasoned he could
more easily seduce Caro if all 4 ladies stayed together. He moved them to a separate London
townhouse he owned & his aunt agreed to move in there with the 4 ladies & sponsor and
chaperon these young ladies.
IMO a Regency young lady deserved respect as a daughter of a dairy farmer, merchant, gent,
or a peer. Max vowed to protect the 4 from rakes like Max. But he wanted Caro. Each of the 4
men felt driven to de-flower the lady of his choice. So Max did not protect the women, as
promised, nor did the 3 men in his closest circle. So male selfishness prevailed.
Some may think: this reviewer expected too much of the men? My thought: couldn't at least one
of the men (Max ?) have restrained his actions & waited till he married the lady? Sarah's man of
choice acted like she had an obligation to have sex w/ him. Sarah should have started over with
a new man. Off my soap-box.
SOME SPOLIERS below.
Max became a duke upon the death of his Uncle Henry. Henry agreed to become the Guardian
of his friend's 4 daughters: Caroline, Sarah, Arabella, & Lizzie, each now respectively 25, 20,
19, & 18. Caro acted as a mother figure to these three half-sisters. The father of the 4 young
ladies had died 18 mos. ago. & Henry died 3 mos. ago. The 4 ladies visited American relatives,
before returning home. So would Max take on the Guardian role in place of Henry?
All 4 of the ladies were smart, stunning in face & form & heiresses. Father's will said upon the
age of 25 or upon marriage, each daughter would no longer need a Guardian. Max & his solicitor
thought it was OK to keep Caro in the dark concerning this provision. Max reasoned he could
more easily seduce Caro if all 4 ladies stayed together. He moved them to a separate London
townhouse he owned & his aunt agreed to move in there with the 4 ladies & sponsor and
chaperon these young ladies.
IMO a Regency young lady deserved respect as a daughter of a dairy farmer, merchant, gent,
or a peer. Max vowed to protect the 4 from rakes like Max. But he wanted Caro. Each of the 4
men felt driven to de-flower the lady of his choice. So Max did not protect the women, as
promised, nor did the 3 men in his closest circle. So male selfishness prevailed.
Some may think: this reviewer expected too much of the men? My thought: couldn't at least one
of the men (Max ?) have restrained his actions & waited till he married the lady? Sarah's man of
choice acted like she had an obligation to have sex w/ him. Sarah should have started over with
a new man. Off my soap-box.
