Becky Wickes is a character like Eliza Doolittle from My
Fair Lady, except that she is a London actress and
cardsharp. Having been used to fleece a minor royal by a
now-vanished partner, the repentant Becky is hiding from the
law. A mysterious woman arranges to meet her, with a
proposal to get her out of the country for a time, to an
errand in Venice.
HIS RAGS-TO-RICHES CONTESSA refers to Conte Luca del Pietro
and his need for an escort who is not what she seems. This
gentleman, a former naval captain, half Venetian and half
English, lives on the Palazzo Pietro, by the Grand Canal.
Everything is strange to Becky. Carnival in November 1818
will be a lively social whirl, when people go masked to
avoid scandal, and gambling is carried on openly. Conte Luca
wants Becky to play his naive young English cousin; by night
though, she will mask and robe herself as a card
professional, and deprive a rival of his money. This other
man, Don Sarti according to Luca, killed Luca\'s father. And
the law is not interested.
Matches
Made in Scandal is the name of this hugely ambitious
series, which visits European cities after the Napoleonic
Wars and allows us to see them through the eyes of ordinary
and extraordinary people. Marguerite Kaye has excelled
herself in describing the beauties of Venice as seen by a
Londoner in her twenties, who, don\'t forget, has not been
to finishing school to learn Italian. Luca being half
English was a masterstroke, as this allowed him to serve in
the Royal Navy. His Venetian side ensured that he would be
involved in trade, something the upper crust in England
disliked. Rather than sit out the years of peace in the
Admiralty he came home, but Venice is currently under the
thumb of the Austrian Empire, and intrigues and resentments
flourish. I laughed when I saw the name Brunetti crop up, as
the equivalent of a butler; fans of Donna Leon\'s modern
police procedurals will understand. Contessa Isabel del
Pietro, Luca\'s mother, is required to teach Becky all the
manners of her society, again much in the manner of My Fair
Lady. She is traditionally also supposed to find him a
suitable wife.
This measured, intricate tale studies the nature of
obsession. Gambling is just one of the forms it takes in HIS
RAGS-TO-RICHES CONTESSA although that is probably the most
dangerous one. Luca is obsessed with ruin; Becky becomes
obsessed with a love, or a shadow of love, which she cannot
have. This passionate adult romance from classic historical
fiction author Marguerite Kaye once more highlights people
living on the edges of Society, no strangers to scandal,
looking for love -- whether they know it or not. I highly
recommend this read, along with a glass of cool Prosecco and
biscotti.
From the streets of London…to Venetian high society!
A Matches Made in Scandal story
To catch his father’s murderer, broodingly arrogant Conte Luca del Pietro requires help from a most unlikely source— Becky Wickes, London’s finest cardsharp. Against the decadence of Carnival, Becky’s innocence and warmth captivate Luca, but as their chemistry burns hotter, the stakes of their perilous game are getting higher. For Luca is no longer playing for justice—but also to win Becky’s heart…
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