For more than twenty years, Sophia Dalby, a former courtesan
who became the Countess of Dalby when she married one of her
lovers, has been the most desirable, fascinating, talking
about woman in London. Now her seventeen-year-old daughter,
Carolyn Trevelyan, is eager for a successful marriage of her
own, but Caro fears that the daughter of a former courtesan
can never hope to achieve a good match on the marriage mart.
Sophia holds a completely different opinion, and sets out
to make a splendid match for Caro by purchasing the
considerable debts of Lord Ashdon, the son and heir of a
former lover, Lord Westlin. In exchange for canceling
Ashdon's debts, Sophia informs him that he must marry Caro.
Ashdon has no choice but to agree, but when Caro learns of
the arrangement, she refuses to marry Ashdon, claiming that
she would rather embrace her mother's former life as a
courtesan rather than marry a man whom her mother has
purchased for her.
Caro's declaration, combined with her fiery personality,
convince Ashdon that he must have her for his own, if not as
a wife, than as a lover. But Caro has no wish to truly
become a courtesan; she simply wants to be wanted by the man
she marries, and as Ashdon turns his seductive blue-eyed
gaze upon her, she realizes that the man she wants to marry
is Ashdon. However, having already been rejected by the
stubborn Caro, Asdon decides that he should ruin her
instead, partly to soothe his wounded pride, and partly to
seek revenge in the name of his father, who was rejected by
Sophia in favor of Lord Dalby twenty years earlier. But
despite his ruthless intentions, Ashdon finds the willful
Caro fascinating and desirable, and he is torn between the
needs of his body and those of his heart. If he agrees to
marry Caro and opens up his heart, will it be a decision of
great wisdom, or ultimate folly?
THE COURTESAN'S DAUGHTER is an entertaining read with an
unusual premise. Caro is a spunky but naïve and innocent
heroine, while her mother, Sophia, adds intrigue to both the
conflict and the resolution. Ashdon opens the story as an
unsympathetic reprobate, which makes his character
development even more fun to watch, as he gradually realizes
that he and Caro are a perfect match. You'll have a
wonderful time getting to know the courtesan's daughter.
A former courtesan, even though, to the discomfort of her
children, she's not at all reformed. Sophia married an
earl, gave him two children, and when he died she raised
them to be exactly what they were: English aristocrats.
The only fly in the ointment was that Sophia was still
carrying around her old reputation as a courtesan, not that
she minded. It did present problems, however, for her
daughter and the need to make a good marriage to a member
of the aristocracy.
Sophia, as any self-respecting courtesan, ahem, former
courtesan would, has a plan. But Caroline, Sophia's
daughter, has her own plans for how to acquire a man and
they don't necessarily include marriage.
Caroline is, in every way imaginable, her mother's
daughter.
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