Out of the Common Way

by Melissa Lynn Jones

WHAT THE RAKE NEEDED WAS A WIFE. AND SHE WAS JUST THE MISS TO MARRY HIM OFF!

Tall as a gatepost, with hair that put carrots to shame, Cecilia wasn't waiting for love. But neither would she marry without it, as her loathsome guardians insisted she must. Her solution: escape to London and into the very comfortable employment of the dowager duchess of Kelthorpe.

Yet the sight of her employer's dashing grandson sent a shock of recognition through Cecilia's fluttering heart. Wasn't this the Major Trelwyn who had once mistaken her for a lightskirt? It had been an embarrassing case of mistaken identity that had ended in a practical joke--at his expense!

The only way to avoid the man, and keep her present position intact, was to find him a wife. There was but one problem. Cecilia was falling in love....

232 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 4, 1993

Reviews

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Cecelia Linscombe meets Colonel Trelwyn during war-times with her dog as their liaison. Months later they meet again but she is using a different identity and he has now inherited a dukedom. He also needs a wife.

This is a traditional Regency romance with some light fluff, a few trust issues and some ladies involved in 'Matchmaking 101'.

[Claire S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cecilia fist encounters Colonel Trelwyn in Portugal. He's visiting a friend in a hospital and is leaving the army as he just inherited the dukedom. Cecilia's father is also in the army and she volunteers at the hospital. She's coming down the stairs and she's unchaperoned and bumps into the Colonel. He thinks she's a lightskirt because of flimsy reasons and tries to set up an assignation with her (although he doesn't do this all the time, he's just celebrating his last days in Portugal, of course). Cecilia decides to teach him a lesson and makes the assignation in order to prank him (the book does describe the practical joke, which was not all that exciting IMHO).
Fast forward and Cecilia's father dies in battle and she goes back to live with her uncle, a baronet. He has plans to send her to live with one of her cousins as a poor relation and governess to the children. She escapes to London to find a paid position and lies about her age and name, since she' a minor. She ends up as a companion to the Duke's grandmother. Due to the nature of their first meeting, Cecilia and the Duke mistrust each other and argue their way into falling in love.
The writing and the story itself were not bad, I just didn't care much for either protagonist. She was a bit too headstrong and immature and he was just standing there arguing back. I didn't find their characters exciting and, therefore, didn't care about the romance. I skimmed my way to the end of the book just to finish it. On a secondary note, when the H considers setting up the h as a mistress at the end of the book after figuring out he loves her (and after thinking her a lightskirt to begin with), it makes it even harder to like him, even if he decides against it.