Ann seems to be getting exactly what she wanted, until she can't go through with the marriage which was supposed to help bring her whole family Into the good graces of society again. Edward doesn't like his English family very much, but finds out that he likes a particular member of that family very much, too much, in fact, to just be the friend to Ann he has promised to be. To top it all off, the abandoned groom appears to have decided to chase the pair through Europe, because he wants his property {his betrothed) back; wants to punish the man who took her, or both. So we have a comedy of errors. Still, Ms. Cooper-Posey, through her characters' very real emotions, turns this story into so much more.
A couple of things bothered me throughout the book. There are no archdukes in Denmark and there have never been any. The title of archduke was reserved for the descendents of the Holy Roman Emporer and was only used in Austria-Hungary. Neither would there have been any earls or their equivalent in Norway at the time. The Norwegian hereditary nobility was abolished in 1821. Noble titles were retained for the lifetime of those holding them only. Subsequent counts and barons were administrators appointed by the king usually prominent businessmen. These things would mean that in the 1890's, Ann's fiancé could easily be powerful enough to chase Ann and Edward through Europe, but not because of his rank or royal connections. It would have been because he was a powerful and wealthy tradesman and shipping magnate. I regret not using my knowledge of Scandinavian history, especially Danish and Norwegian history to inform the author, as soon as I read about the Archduke of Silkeborg in an earlier book. For most people, all this history nerd business will be completely irrelevant.
The story stands. The characters, their emotions and confusions and courage are what make /Their Foreign Affair/ a very good book.