The Forfeit, by Py Russell-Heath, is a regency that I found off the freebie list at Amazon. Yes, I'm still in my freebie hunt mode. Plus, on top of that, it was a regency. I just couldn't resist. I also loved the fact that on her author page, Ms. Russell-Heath posted a photo of herself decked out in regency garb. I want my own gown now. Actually, now that I think of it, if I could get the special man in my life into a frock coat, I think that I'd be pretty estatic, but I'm digressing from the purpose of this blog entry, which is to discuss The Forfeit.
The hero in this story is a stuffy earl, Lord Edmund Spanton, the Earl of Merton, who forgets himself when he crashes into the heroine, the Honorable Miss Regina Carbury, on a staircase at The Withered Rose Inn. Both are not in their finest frames of mind; Regina is furious with getting knocked over and proceeds to verbally flay Edmund with her words, while Edmund, who is en route to London after an aggravating visit with his sister, responds with boorish behaviour in the face of what he perceives as an attack by still yet another criticizing female. When Regina tries to pass by him, he refuses to budge unless she pays him a forfeit, which is, of course, a kiss. Regina leans over to kiss him on the cheek, but sneaky man that he is, Edmund places his lips in the way, and "...her face reflected the surprise that he felt." I thought that this line was rather Austen-like...it reminded me of the verbal spat between Darcy and Elizabeth when discussing Wickham, or of the meeting between Elizabeth and Darcy at Pemberley, or even when E and D reconciled their differences on their walk to Oakham Mount.
At this point in the story, neither person knows the identity of the other, and leaves the inn with a bit of shame over their own behaviour, relieved that they will likely not ever see each other again. That is the case, until they meet at a ball in London when they find out that Edmund is a dear friend of Regina's aunt and uncle with whom she is staying. Awkwardness abounds. Edmund is taken so much by surprise that he ends up giving Regina the cut direct unintentionally, which creates a problem for him in his relationship with Regina's aunt and uncle. He tries to rectify this error by taking Regina out riding the next day, and Regina and he apologize to each other for their abominable behaviour. However, Edmund becomes stiff and remote by the end of this outing when he realizes that too much attention has been drawn towards Regina and himself that he fears that talk would circulate about a relationship between them. Regina, realizing that Edmund is not interested in having society gossip about them being together, regrets her behaviour, but stands firm in her resolve to not presume on the earl's acquaintance. However, she does admit that he is an attractive man.
Regina is in London to find a husband so that she will not inconvenience her brother or his future wife. Edmund is also on the marriage hunt, trying to look for a wife who will meet the Three B's: breeding, bearing, and behaviour. However, neither is on each other's list initially, until it becomes apparent that no other candidate will do except for the person who each had met at The Withered Rose Inn.
I found this novel to be populated with nice people. It was rather refreshing. There wasn't much by the way of catty or mean behaviour by many of the characters in this novel, with a few exceptions: Mrs. Tifton, a social climber, Lady Bremond, the diamond of first water who is the frontrunner for the position of being Edmund's countess, and Lord Linley, a marquis who makes some rather unwelcome advances towards Regina. Other than that, many of the characters appeared to be self sacrificing, willing to do the right and honorable thing, and in some cases, even at the expense of their own personal happiness. However, Regina was the one who was the one who exemplified this type of behaviour the most in this story.
The Forfeit had its funny moments too. For starters, there were Regina's responses to all the marriage offers that started coming her way once the three top contenders for her hand were refused. I also found it a bit funny when Edmund's good friend, Lord Matthew Warton, Viscount Neal, decided to throw in his hat and propose to Regina to stir up Edmund's jealousy. Ah, dear Matthew...such a cheeky fellow.
Another funny moment was when Regina realized that the house party that she was attending would have seven unmarried men, most of whom were earls, one of whom might try to offer for her if only to see if he might succeed where a viscount could not. Why is the girl panicking? Really, I don't think that I would have if I were in her shoes.
Finally, there was the time when Edmund persuaded Regina to read through his updated list of requirements for the Countess of Merton. Edmund was trying to argue that she had the appropriate breeding and bearing, but I had to laugh at the history of how Regina's forefather gained his title. I also found it humourous that he said to overlook the behaviour section.
I did fear that the novel was going to drag on a bit after Regina's refusal of her second suitor. The first two refusals took a bit of time in the plot, but the third and subsequent refusals were dealt with quite quickly and the pace picked up. I did want to rattle Edmund's shoulders for not realizing his feelings for Regina.
The novel was clean, witty at points, and enjoyable to read. I wanted to find out how it ended. From Ms. Russell-Heath's author page, it appears that she may have another couple of novels in the works. I hope that Matthew Warton's story will be one of those.
