"Delightful Regency Scandal"

THE RAKE AND THE WALLFLOWER is the delightful sequel to THE NOTORIOUS WIDOW. Both books center on the escapades of the Seabrook family. I have not read the first book yet, but enough backstory is given that one doesn't feel lost. After reading TRATW I intend to read the first one soon. The elder Seabrook sister Catherine has married her love, Blake from WIDOW, and they have gone to London for the season with her two younger sisters in tow.

Laura is a beautiful, wild, vindictive woman who fancies herself the toast of the Ton. Laura thinks that she is so in favor and popular that she can act in anyway she chooses. Mary Seabrook is Laura's younger sister and would be happy to forget about the Ton and attend meetings of the Natural History society. She is an inveterate birdwatcher and when comfortable can converse intelligently and act gracefully. Unfortunately for Mary, Laura resents sharing her season and does all she can to ruin or embarrass Mary. Which makes Mary tense, tongue-tied and clumsy. Laura also never misses a chance to tell Mary how plain and unattractive she is. Fortunately, Mary has no illusions about Laura's character and recognizes Laura's fine hand when a particularly nasty rake relentlessly pursues her. Mary flees from the ballroom into an alcove behind a potted plant. From this vantage point Mary can see into the ball room and takes out her sketch pad and enjoys sketching while waiting for the rake to give up his hunt for her.

Lord Grayson enters Mary's alcove while trying to escape a particularly encroaching young miss, who was hoping to trap Gray into marriage. Mary and Gray converse easily and discover they both are naturalists and Gray admires Mary's clever and often satirical sketches. Afterwards Mary realizes she wasn't tongue-tied with Gray and he is pleased that she seemed unafraid of him.

Gray is particularly leery of young women, as he has been labeled a jilt and a ruiner of innocents because of the actions of two particularly determined women. One of them killed herself after declaring he had made her pregnant and abandoned her. Of course, Gray is innocent but he cannot think of any way to prove it. For two years he has endured being cut socially, but he has adopted a mask of nonchalance that keeps the Ton from seeing his pain.

Laura steps up her efforts to ruin Mary by making innuendos about her in a drawing room full of dowagers. To Laura's distress her efforts to ruin her sister backfire and the ladies of the Ton begin to turn on her. Laura does not understand that her viciousness shows to her ill and Mary's temperate responses show the ladies that Mary is a lady-of-quality and the type of woman they would like for their son's wives.

Mary is concerned because each time she runs into Gray he looks worse then the previous time. In a short period of time he has been drugged, beaten, poisoned and nearly run down by a cart. After Mary pulls him out of the way of the cart, she finally convinces him that all of this is not just bad luck, but that someone is trying to kill him.

Watching Mary and Gray work to save his life, reclaim his reputation and foil Laura's attempts to get Gray to the altar is just a delight. These two talk to each other and share their worries and feelings and the repartee is often sparkling.

Best of all are the unusual characters. Gray is a strong man who was raised by a brutal father who beat him for not being 'manly' enough. He has always felt out of place and alone. He also has one major weakness: the sight of blood makes him ill. When the reason for this is revealed it is heartbreaking and one would like to give his father a stiff kick.

Mary is intelligent, sensitive and intuitive and is the perfect match for Gray. This is one happily ever after that is completely believable.

I was pleased to see that there are 3 Seabrook brothers and hope we will see more of this wonderful family. I would even enjoy seeing a much-chastened Laura eventually paired with a man who could tame her. Lane uses the couple from NOTORIOUS WIDOW well and I do hope we will see both couples in a future book.

Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Posted March 12, 2002

Summary

Young, awkward Mary Seabrook is delighted when handsome Lord Grayson enters her life. But she soon discovers that danger follows him at every turn-and that his many mishaps may be more than mere coincidence...