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.