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Lescaut/Vaughan Quartet #4
Rightfully His
She begged him for help...
Francis Storbridge was once her best friend—though he had always wished for more. But Charlotte de Ribard sent him away, accusing him of collaborating in her blackguard father's most terrible crime. Now, years later, Francis is a member of Parliament and Charlotte's only hope to save her family from disgrace. In desperation, she appealed to the man she tried to hate, prepared to risk anything—except her heart and the passion she'd buried so long ago.
His price was marriage...
To Francis's astonishment, Charlotte said yes—to a marriage of convenience. She would be his wife in name only, mother to his orphaned family. Suddenly everything he had always wanted was within his reach, yet beyond his grasp. Now it was his turn to earn her trust by honoring their bargain, to protect her from her powerful, ruthless father. Only then could he tempt her to the sweetest abandon of all, the kind only love can bring.
Francis Storbridge was once her best friend—though he had always wished for more. But Charlotte de Ribard sent him away, accusing him of collaborating in her blackguard father's most terrible crime. Now, years later, Francis is a member of Parliament and Charlotte's only hope to save her family from disgrace. In desperation, she appealed to the man she tried to hate, prepared to risk anything—except her heart and the passion she'd buried so long ago.
His price was marriage...
To Francis's astonishment, Charlotte said yes—to a marriage of convenience. She would be his wife in name only, mother to his orphaned family. Suddenly everything he had always wanted was within his reach, yet beyond his grasp. Now it was his turn to earn her trust by honoring their bargain, to protect her from her powerful, ruthless father. Only then could he tempt her to the sweetest abandon of all, the kind only love can bring.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 10, 1998
8 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Tracy Grant
55 books177 followersTracy Grant studied British history at Stanford University and received the Firestone Award for Excellence in Research for her honors thesis on shifting conceptions of honor in late fifteenth century England. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her young daughter and three cats. In addition to writing, Tracy works for the Merola Opera Program, a professional training program for opera singers, pianists, and stage directors. Her real life heroine is her daughter Mélanie, who is very cooperative about Mummy’s writing. Tracy is currently at work on her next book chronicling the adventures of Malcolm and Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 29, 2017
Rightfully His, by Tracy Grant: 1 “Who’s Your Daddy” Star
MAURY: “This is Frank Storbridge, the hero of the outrageously melodramatic romance novel, Rightfully His, by Tracy Grant. Welcome, Frank.”
MAURY: “5 years ago, Frank’s life spiraled out of control when his “true love”, Charlotte de Ribard, experienced the literary phenomenon known as “The Loss of Innocence”; after which she spurned his marriage proposal and crushed his dreams of a HEA. Isn’t that right, Charlotte?”
MAURY: “According to Frank, you accused him of being privy to crimes committed by this man…”
Cut to shot of villainous, evil genius & criminal mastermind
MAURY: “Your father, Charlotte. And Frank’s former boss.”
Cut to audience.
MAURY: “After you broke Frank’s heart, he retreated to London, became the secretary of another, rich, powerful man with a daughter; and, when she was “compromised”, he offered to marry her in exchange for a seat in Parliament. Seven months later, his wife died giving birth to a daughter.”
Cut to shot of Frank’s daughter
CHARLOTTE:*sob* “SHE HAS HIS EYE!” *sob*
FRANK:*GASP!*
Cut to commercial
Back to the show.
MAURY: “So, Charlotte… tell us what happened after you & Frank reconnected a few months ago.”
CHARLOTTE: “Well, HE blackmailed me into marrying him.”
Cut to audience.
CHARLOTTE: “And THEN we had to deal with ALL these issues:
Neice-icide
Sexual repression
Uptight Tories & Radical Whigs
Bolshy newspapermen & evil bankers
Gay blackmail & suicide
The emancipation of slaves
Prejudice & inter-racial marriage
Workers rights & education for poor children
Frank’s dead wife’s brother (who gambled away our money)
The return of my villainous, evil genius, criminal mastermind father…
...And his political secret stealing mistress...
...Who slept with my husband!...
...AND my brother-in-law!
Googly eyes, tightening bodies, & the smelling of skin from across the room!”
Cut to green room.
CHARLOTTE: “Premarital sex; technical incest; unwanted pregnancy; and NOW…. A BABY DADDY!”
MAURY:*Chuckles* “I’ll admit, that does seem a bit OTT, Charlotte…”
FRANK: *Grins sheepishly* “You can say THAT again Maury!”
Cut to audience.
MAURY: “Alright! I have the DNA results. Ready to find out if Juliet’s your biological daughter, Frank?”
FRANK: “I think I am, Maury.”
MAURY: “Okay. Let’s take a look. And… Frank… YOU…”
Return to Maury: Flash book rating & roll end credits.
Rightfully His, by Tracy Grant: 1 “Who’s Your Daddy” Star
For information about my rating system, see my profile page.
MAURY: “This is Frank Storbridge, the hero of the outrageously melodramatic romance novel, Rightfully His, by Tracy Grant. Welcome, Frank.”
MAURY: “5 years ago, Frank’s life spiraled out of control when his “true love”, Charlotte de Ribard, experienced the literary phenomenon known as “The Loss of Innocence”; after which she spurned his marriage proposal and crushed his dreams of a HEA. Isn’t that right, Charlotte?”
MAURY: “According to Frank, you accused him of being privy to crimes committed by this man…”
Cut to shot of villainous, evil genius & criminal mastermind
MAURY: “Your father, Charlotte. And Frank’s former boss.”
Cut to audience.
MAURY: “After you broke Frank’s heart, he retreated to London, became the secretary of another, rich, powerful man with a daughter; and, when she was “compromised”, he offered to marry her in exchange for a seat in Parliament. Seven months later, his wife died giving birth to a daughter.”
Cut to shot of Frank’s daughter
CHARLOTTE:*sob* “SHE HAS HIS EYE!” *sob*
FRANK:*GASP!*
Cut to commercial
Back to the show.
MAURY: “So, Charlotte… tell us what happened after you & Frank reconnected a few months ago.”
CHARLOTTE: “Well, HE blackmailed me into marrying him.”
Cut to audience.
CHARLOTTE: “And THEN we had to deal with ALL these issues:
Neice-icide
Sexual repression
Uptight Tories & Radical Whigs
Bolshy newspapermen & evil bankers
Gay blackmail & suicide
The emancipation of slaves
Prejudice & inter-racial marriage
Workers rights & education for poor children
Frank’s dead wife’s brother (who gambled away our money)
The return of my villainous, evil genius, criminal mastermind father…
...And his political secret stealing mistress...
...Who slept with my husband!...
...AND my brother-in-law!
Googly eyes, tightening bodies, & the smelling of skin from across the room!”
Cut to green room.
CHARLOTTE: “Premarital sex; technical incest; unwanted pregnancy; and NOW…. A BABY DADDY!”
MAURY:*Chuckles* “I’ll admit, that does seem a bit OTT, Charlotte…”
FRANK: *Grins sheepishly* “You can say THAT again Maury!”
Cut to audience.
MAURY: “Alright! I have the DNA results. Ready to find out if Juliet’s your biological daughter, Frank?”
FRANK: “I think I am, Maury.”
MAURY: “Okay. Let’s take a look. And… Frank… YOU…”
Return to Maury: Flash book rating & roll end credits.
Rightfully His, by Tracy Grant: 1 “Who’s Your Daddy” Star
For information about my rating system, see my profile page.
February 4, 2024
Liked this couple who are in love and try to deny it. As before, evil father tries to manipulate them but the H has a plan. Ultimately the h rescues them both at the end. It's all very tricksy. A good ending to the series.
April 19, 2023
I devoured this series! I just love how sophisticated grant’s characters are, and how rich the world she builds is. Plus I am a sucker for any regency that features the radical politics of the day. Every book was just chock full of this deliciousness. If I have any quibbles it’s with the romances, but since the books were marketed as romantic suspense I can’t really blame her for not focusing as much on the emotional arcs as the suspense. Anyway… wonderful work !!
July 6, 2019
Very rich in historical detail and a good plot as well. He heroin was a bit stubborn but I guess you do have to create some suspense. Overall a very interesting book.
October 27, 2013
Now that I'm settled once again with all my books in tow, I've been rereading many of my old-school historical romances, and many have not withstood the test of time: Petals in the Storm is a melodramatic Big Mis, Lady of Desire is downright goofy at moments. This makes Tracy Grant's books all the more impressive- she brings melodrama, family secrets, violence, and the French Revolution but manages to hold the plot together. Rightfully His is my favorite- a classic marriage of convenience/blackmail plot with meaty family conflict. Grant's protagonists wander from the script in delicious ways- I love that the hero uses his words rather than going off in a huff!
June 4, 2023
I didn't realize when I got this book how much politics and philosophy would be involved, but I thought it was all very well done. Lots of interesting thoughts about complicity and how to work effectively without compromising your principles or becoming what you're trying to eliminate. I loved the evolving family relationships too, on both sides. This is the kind of romance novel that has plenty of other stuff going on, but I didn't feel like the romance ever got lost, and the HEA is as satisfying as it should be.
Also, I quite liked the background romance between the heroine's sister and her husband. They've been married for a long time, drifted apart, and both had other lovers -- it was the kind of "society marriage" that often gets mentioned as the bad option in other historical romances -- and find each other again as the plot progresses. Not that I wanted this book to about them instead, but I would really like to read a romance that focused on a couple like this.
Also, I quite liked the background romance between the heroine's sister and her husband. They've been married for a long time, drifted apart, and both had other lovers -- it was the kind of "society marriage" that often gets mentioned as the bad option in other historical romances -- and find each other again as the plot progresses. Not that I wanted this book to about them instead, but I would really like to read a romance that focused on a couple like this.
April 9, 2012
The last of my $2.99 Kindle e-book purchases, this is the story of Francis and Charlotte. I liked this just as much as her other two books, great character development, superb historical details. Grant writes books I wish I could crawl right into! Just learned that these three books are part of a quartet, so I guess I'm headed back to Amazon to buy the last one!
August 3, 2016
Good book. It's the rare romance that surprises me but this one had some interesting character development and one or two unexpected plot twists. Even the supporting characters (some of whom appeared in previous books)had depth. The ending, however, dragged on a bit.
January 26, 2010
Historical fiction. Written by my cousin. She is great at character development.
February 18, 2015
Holy cats that is a horribly lurid cover.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews