Lady Fiona Maeve Ferguson Hawes and her twin sister, Lady Mairead, have been living with their grandfather, the marquessate of Leyburn, for the last four years, ever since Ian's best friend, Alex Knight, Lord Whitmore, had found them and brought them to Hawesworth Castle in Yorkshire. Alex Knight has just delivered news of their brother, Ian, and it was the worst news anyone could hear. Ian was killed on the battlefield after being accused of treason for attempting to murder the Duke of Wellington. This deplorable news gives their despicable grandfather the reason he has looked for since the young women arrived at his estate. He tells them to leave his presence within the hour; he will not have the scandal about them or their brother tarnish his esteemed name.
One month later Alex is back at Hawesworth with wonderful news. Ian is not dead. Alex rushes to tell the twins, and discovers that the marquess had thrown them out the day Alex was last here. Now it is his job once again to find the women, this time with the help of his best friend Charles, Lord Wilde, who is called Chuffy and is a brilliant and very eccentric man, and a total social misfit. When they find Fiona and Mairead, the women do not want to leave the village where they have taken refuge. Then strange and dangerous thing begin to happen to them, and the ladies have no choice but to flee for their lives.
Eileen Dreyer has created excellent plotting, characterizations, and pacing of narrative. Fiona did what she had to do to feed herself and Mairead after their mother died, and before Ian found them. She knows that polite society will never accept her, and she is content with her teaching the poor children, and battling wits with respected scholars. Fiona has always had a physical reaction to Alex, but believes his family would be disappointed in his choice of a friend, or more.
TWICE TEMPTED is the fourth in the Drakes'Rakes series, and is a wonderful stand-alone story. Couples from the preceding tales drop in with their updated situations. Ms. Dreyer presents the reader with an exciting, well written story of romance, spies, loyalty and betrayal.
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