An Unquestionable Lady

by Rosina Pyatt

GENTLEMAN OFFERS SECURITY AND SOCIAL POSITION IN RETURN FOR MARRIAGE WITH AN UNQUESTIONABLE LADY.
Too proud to apply to relatives or friends for help, Miss Claudia Talton was desperate enough to answer the advertisement. But why would an affluent and well-positioned gentleman need to go to such lengths to find a wife? Then she learned his name... Giles Verylan. Now she knew why he needed to advertise; no lady would dream of allying herself with such a rake. But the touch of his hand, the knowing smile, and the challenging gleam in his appraising eyes made her wonder if perhaps she was not a lady after all-at least in certain circumstances...

A SATISFACTORY ARRANGEMENT
Verylan looked over his prospective bride with clinical dispassion. Yes, she would do. Obviously a lady, and attractive-damned attractive-into the bargain... as well as sensible enough to appreciate the advantages of what he was offering. A marriage of convenience--his convenience--no more and no less. After providing him with an heir she would be free to live a life of luxury unencumbered by his attentions, which he would satisfy elsewhere. Miss Tallon was hardly in a position to expect a love match, and neither was he. The two of them were thus eminently suited to one another... if only Verylan knew how well!

Genres: Regency, Historical

285 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Rosina Pyatt lives on the Isle of Wight, England, UK, with its sparkling white beaches, and has three children, of whom she is immensely proud. In addition to Rosina Pyatt's historical romance novels, the author also has written contemporary romance novels as Anne Beaumont.

She started out as a Jill-of-allwriting-trades, but she says it was her experience as a magazine fiction editor, buying stories and condensing them for serialization, that taught her to separate the bones of a story from the flesh. ln her own writing she starts with her characters—-“a heroine I can identify with, then a hero who seems right for her." She says that many writers work in reverse—plot first, then characters. "That's fine," she says. 'If we all had the same method, we might all be writing the same books, and what a crashing bore that would be!"

Reviews

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 3 out of 5]

4* to 3.5* but then goes pretty low with that ending but still I will give it 3* for keeping me so engrossed.

An incredibly cruel, boorish and abusive H with a scandalous past, a strong determined h who gives back pretty good, an interesting and tense moc with a MU soon adding to the distance, many a head-on clashing, the H's daughter and her story and all this in an HR - gelled into what promised to be a story right up my alley.
And for most part it is - but for certain icky (thus spoilerfic) things and that quick, let down of an ending. If only the author had taken a slightly different way of doing things.

The moc came about as the h answers an advt. for a bride. Her father has just died and the heir/new incumbent and his jealous wife want her gone. The H, we learn, is also an aristocrat and needs a wife to launch his daughter into society. It seems he cannot get a wife the right way as he has a bad reputation, a really bad one. Apparently, he married very young (18-19) and then dumped his wife and daughter to run off with another man's wife and whom he deserts soon after in India, from where he has just returned with a new mistress in tow. The prodigal (and shunned by his family) has just come into his title as his two older brothers are dead.
So, the very cruel, very rude H - very much up my alley kinda H - soon takes things to an obnoxious, crass and bullyish levels. And does not stop! Okay, dude, give us a break. Poor h tries hard, very hard to take all those unjustified insults and insinuations and tried to keep her pride. His insensitivity and distance includes the daughter. The h and daughter become friends and the h plays a role in getting her married to a man she loves, a younger son of a squire and so, not approved of by the H.
Anyways, coming back to the h/H, their problems exacerbate from their wedding night when the H, on finding her a non virgin, starts calling her some very ugly names and does not stop. (The h loved her fiance, who went off to war years ago and died there. The h is neither sorry, nor apologetic about it.) The incidence of her giving away her old sapphire ring (to match her eyes), given to her by her dead fiancé, to two disabled soldier/beggars who are wearing her beloved's regiment's uniform is intensely poignant. And then the H's deliberately giving her a ruby ring ,rather than a stone to match her eyes, a deed best suited to besotted lovers according to him, also comes into play later.

*Super Spoilers*The story, despite his cruelty is very strong and well fleshed out, and highly engrossing. Only if the author had not added the icky part I mentioned earlier. So, we know he has a mistress who he does a give a conge of sorts on the wedding day and sends her off to Paris, a place he visits at least twice later - after their big fight. His celibacy/cheating is not mentioned but I feel he did cheat on the first visit.
But the problem is another woman. A plain, unattractive woman for whom he feels no attraction at all but who is deranged and obsessed, I think. The h's lady's maid! Why, why, why - I would like to ask the author! I realize I much prefer the glamorous mistresses, the widows and the actresses as the trouble making ow!

Firstly, why doesn't the h fire her when the maid's obviously crazy, inappropriate behavior begins. Like her ordering the h to do things her way and often touching the h's pregnant tummy like she did. It's gross and uncomfortable to read. It was apparent to the reader what was coming but not to the level the author allowed! Why?
And on the night of the h's birthday! Which the H ruins first with his careless remarks, hurting her, then getting drunk and then this!
Then, he leaves to let her be. We can see he cares for her but his actions are always off. Why cannot he ever man up? I liked that he helped her take care of their preterm baby. But he never gathers the courage to confess or admit his feelings in these months.
The story ends in a non-climactic and dissatisfactory way, especially in way of groveling and explaining.

Another book that completely self-destructs. :/

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

RTC
This was not a romance

[Lyuda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-4 stars. Dark story, very good writing. The hero is too unlikable even at the end when the reason for his behavior was revealed. It did not excuse him, in my opinion, for all the bruising, harsh words and despicable treatment his wife received from him.

[wrkatreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was and enjoyable read.

[BURMA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorprendentemente bien escrito. Very well written.
SPOILERS AHEAD: The story is credible and the characters very well depicted. Still, one star less because there is not enough grovel. Come on! He has cheated on her and he is forgiven in a minute after he speaks of love...????!!!! A very rushed end.

[Márcia L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I hated how he treated her when he found out that she wasn't virgin. Double standards. And her Hs always loved the OWs to distraction. At leas when he found out that his loved OW was a gold-digger and a cheater he left her but payed her handsomely while he threatend not giving a penny to the heroine after he found out that she wasn't pure as he thought while he were always generous and caring for the OWs. I doubt that he would have married the heroine if he knew she wasn't chaste.
I still don't know if he still had sex with his current paramour in the day of the wedding but he surely was smelling her and later when he went to Paris.
But I do believe by the end that he loved the heroine unlike others 2 books by the author that I read.

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Questa quarta rilettura a distanza di tre anni mi stava piacendo molto. I personaggi sono ben assortiti e ci si divertiva. Finché lei, trattata come una pezza da piedi, non ha esordito con “sono innamorata, povera me soffrirò” (o qualcosa del genere). Ma è davvero possibile che ci si possa innamorare di un deficiente che ti tratta da schifo? Ma davvero? Va bene che siamo ai primi dell’800, ma la tizia in questione pare pure un tipino moderno. Niente da fare, anche questo non supera la prova del tempo.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The heroine's virtue/virginity was a big issue in this one but i really enjoyed the story. It's a second chance love story where the MCs land themselves in a MOC and learn to love and adapt to each other. The Hero is the cruel alpha type with a tragic back story and the h has suffered enough before sbe meets the H. While the hero is cruel to the h, it's all good in the end and i liked the authors writing.

[Anamika]

French

[Laura Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

When you read this book the hero of this piece has absolutely no redeeming qualities,heroine seems emotionally unbalanced you know you're in trouble.