Katharine Ashe's THE EARL, is an elegantly written opposites
attract love story which features suspense, fabulous
dialogue, romance and history. I have been waiting for this
story for several years and I was not disappointed!
Lady Justice writes about social reform in her pamphlets. She
and Peregrine are fierce political opponents who have
appeared throughout Ms. Ashe's Falcon
Club series. The
Falcon Club's mission is to find missing people and return
them. Lady Justice's sister has been missing for several
months and she reluctantly turns to Peregrine for
assistance.
Lady Justice receives a note from Scotland which states
that her sister is alive. She dismisses Peregrine and sets
out to find her sister on her own. Peregrine and Lady
Justice meet unexpectedly at an inn in Scotland where they
are mistaken for a pair of felons who have murdered a local
woman. Outnumbered, they leave the inn on horseback. The
couple is pursued from village to village. Lady Justice has
no choice but to follow Peregrine. The trip through the
Scottish countryside parallels the couple's personal
journey. To outsmart the people who are intent on capturing
them, they must learn to trust and rely on each other.
Katharine Ashe creates characters who have purpose. Lady
Justice and Peregrine are imperfect but, are perfect for
each other. Both are strong willed and determined and these
traits enable them to survive their ordeal.
Ms. Ashe is not afraid to portray characters that appear to
be strong but, in fact, are emotionally vulnerable. Lady
Justice's pamphlets show the importance and the value of the
written word. The letters speak of social injustices,
political reform and women's rights as important topics in
1822 and in 2016.
At first, the pairing of this couple surprised me. As I
became immersed in THE EARL, I wanted them to elude the
men who were chasing them and fall in love. The conclusion
to THE EARL was splendidly crafted--full of surprises!
How does a bookish lady bring an arrogant lord to his knees?
Entice him to Scotland, strip him of titles and riches, and
make him prove what sort of man he truly is.
Opposites…
Handsome, wealthy, and sublimely confident, Colin Gray, the
new Earl of Egremoor, has vowed to unmask the rabble-rousing
pamphleteer, Lady Justice, the thorn in England’s paw. And
he’ll stop at nothing.
Attract.
Smart, big-hearted, and passionately dedicated to her work,
Lady Justice longs to teach her nemesis a lesson in
humility. But her sister is missing, and a perilous journey
with her archrival into unknown territory just might turn
fierce enemies into lovers.
Excerpt
The moon had ceded the night to the stars when she arrived
at the meeting place they had agreed upon via letter: a
small ancient cemetery surrounded by a fence and hedges on a
street still busy with carriages and horse traffic. A long
black cloak and veil aided the dark in disguising her.
Her coachman walked beside her, but he would not accompany
her to the meeting. For all his taunting, Peregrine did not
frighten her. A man who dedicated his leisure time to
rescuing strays was unlikely to harm a lone woman.
The cobbles shimmered with rain as she gestured for Jonah to
remain across the street. Lamps lit this part of London
irregularly, and the break in the wall was in shadow. Beside
the gate stood an enormous man.
“Ma’am.” The behemoth bowed. “He awaits you within.”
It was immediately clear why Peregrine had suggested this
place. The thick hedge within the walls created a bower of
privacy and the gravestones scattered unevenly throughout
made swift escape impossible.
He had staged the situation to his advantage too. He stood
among the stones not four yards away, a lamp on the ground
behind him casting him in silhouette. He was tall, and the
breadth of his shoulders and solid stance suggested a man of
fine physical conditioning. The night was mild and he wore
no hat or overcoat—nothing to disguise him.
He was entirely willing for her to know his true identity.
The gate creaked closed behind her.
“Good evening, madam,” he said into the darkness. “It is a
pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. I have looked
forward to this moment for years. But, of course, you
already know that.” His voice was smooth and low, far from
menacing, rather intimate, and shockingly, unbelievably,
horribly familiar.
Only hours earlier this elegant voice had proposed marriage
to her.
“I am Gray,” he said. “Now remove that veil and tell me your
name.”
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