Penniless Margaret Gray has depended on the charity of her
relatives since being orphaned as a young child. Since the
death of her uncle, she's been barely tolerated by her not-
much-older Aunt Lavinia and her cousin Penelope. When Lord
Romsey comes to visit, Penelope informs Margaret that it's
with marriage in mind. Margaret is stunned when Penelope
tells her it's Margaret he's come to wed. Intrigued by the
handsome visitor in the room adjoining her own, both young
women are shocked to learn that it isn't Margaret's hand in
marriage he seeks, but Penelope's.
Jordan Prescott is penniless and must marry an heiress to
keep the family home after his fortunes are squandered away
by his philandering father. Though attracted to Margaret,
he knows it's Penelope he must wed.
Many intrigues are afoot at Gray's Manor, especially after
Jordan's father, Charles, and Charles' mistress, Anne,
arrive. Lavinia sets her sights on Charles and is equally
determined to see Penelope wed to Jordan. Trivial things
like her own lover and Jordan's attraction to Margaret are
not going to stop her from seeing her plans to fruition.
Unfortunately, Charles has his own agenda, and it doesn't
include wedding the conniving Lavinia.
SECRET FANTASY is a bit of a departure from Ms. Holt's
usual entertaining stories. Most notable was a lack of
enjoyable characters. Margaret is a noble heroine and Anne
sympathetic, but beyond that, there wasn't a particularly
likable person in the bunch, including Jordan. However, the
story was entertaining with all the scheming
underhandedness going on as everyone tries to out-do the
other in order to achieve their self-serving goals. Fans of
Ms. Holt will undoubtedly enjoy SECRET FANTASY, but
newcomers might want to try one of her earlier novels (TOO
WICKED TO WED comes to mind) to get a true sense of her
gift of sensual and entertaining storytelling.
Orphaned at a young age and sent to live with selfish
relatives, Margaret Gray has no dowry and no chance of ever
marrying. When her aunt invites Jordan Prescott for a
visit, hoping to entice him into offering for Margaret’s
spoiled cousin, the dashing war hero instead tempts
Margaret into a truly decadent decision. If Margaret cannot
have a husband, perhaps she dares, just once, to taste the
pleasures of the flesh? Now that she’s awakened to her own
desires and sensations, she is drawn body and soul into a
rapturous clandestine liaison.
Since his dissolute father squandered the family fortune,
Jordan is required to marry an heiress in order to provide
for his half-siblings. Yet no woman has ever aroused him as
much as Margaret. Her sedate exterior belies a bold,
curious spirit and tantalizing sexuality. A single illicit
tryst becomes a month-long journey in carnal abandon, but
with Jordan’s visit drawing to a close, can their passion
survive the dangerous scheming that threatens to keep them
apart?
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