Anne Greenway was nervous her first day as housekeeper to
the eccentric Lord Drake Byron. The staff was full of tales
of the irregularity of his household, odd smells and booms
escaping from his study, Lord Byron himself never keeping
regular hours and sometimes wandering like a man witless,
his mind and thoughts on anything but the here and now.
Still, they had nothing but good to say about the man
himself. He was a generous and kind employer, for all his
strange ways. But Anne had more reasons than most to be
nervous. The lives of those dearest to her depended on her
remaining in Lord Byron's employ long enough to steal from
him, no matter how kind a man he is. Anne Greenway was in
fact Sebastianne Dumont, left a widow by Napoleon's war yet
forced to aid France's war effort or have her remaining
family suffer the consequences. Her task would be far easier
if only Drake Byron weren't so kind or so handsome. Getting
close to him physically can only aid her mission, but it
threatens her heart.
Drake Byron was happy with his life. No wife to curtail his
activities, a useful role in the war effort developing nigh
unbreakable codes and now the lovely Anne Greenway with her
autumn-hued hair and lush body, and definite interest in her
eyes. His brothers may all be happily caught in the parson's
mousetrap but he would remain free of female shackles, he
thought, until his relationship with the housekeeper becomes
more than he ever thought he would feel for another.
I approached this historical romance with a hint of
trepidation. I often find romantic plots based on a
deception between the two main characters a bit contrived
and unpleasant. After all, if you are close enough to fall
in love with one another, should you not also be close
enough to feel a certain level of trust? In other books with
similar scenarios the resolution has seemed unfair to those
deceived, or a bit false in flavor. Not with THE BED AND THE
BACHELOR. Without giving anything away from Warren's fifth
book in the Byrons of Braebourne series, I can assure you
that the problems I often encounter with deception in
romance are handled realistically and well. The plot is
tightly written, the love scenes intensely passionate and
the suspense inexorably leads to a dramatic and satisfying
conclusion.
Lord Drake Byron has no time in his busy life to worry about
taking a wife. He is more interested in the unbreakable code
he has developed to defeat Napoleon’s forces. Little does he
know that the irresistibly lovely new housekeeper he’s hired
is really a French spy sent to retrieve the code.
Sebastianne Dumont is not at all who she seems to be. Forced
to steal the code to save her family, her mission takes an
even more dangerous turn when she falls in love with the
surprisingly tempting man she must ultimately betray. And if
she succeeds in stealing the code, will she also steal Lord
Drake’s heart, while leaving her own behind?
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