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売り渡された娘
A rogue draped in a mantle of savagery and civilization was the only way to describe Peter Desmond, she'd decided. But Marianne Trenton shuddered to realize she was dangerously intrigued, indeed, beguiled, by the very man she'd sworn to destroy!Marianne Trenton was a jewel of young womanhood, shining with an innocence that radiated its own sweet allure. She'd appeared in Peter Desmond's life at the turn of a card, then turned his heart around...and he vowed to make her his own!
Paperback Bunko
First published August 1, 1996
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Sally Cheney
15 books1 followerSally Cheney was a bookstore owner before returning to her first love — writing. She has traveled extensively in the United States, but is happiest with the peaceful rural life in her home state of Idaho. When she is not writing , she is active in community affairs and enjoys cooking and gardening.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 16, 2012
3.5 stars
This book was pretty ridiculous, yet I actually rather liked it.
The plot: Peter Desmond is gambling with some not-friends when one offers up his ward in place of money. Our hero, thinking he means a prostitute, is glad to accept after seeing her photograph. Our heroine, at the tender age of sixteen, is just glad to get away from her creep of a guardian. So the heroine goes to the hero's house, where he nearly rapes her, but stops once he realizes she really meant it when she said no. (Is it sad that I actually feel proud of a hero when he resists raping the heroine?) He then sends her off to school and they see each other about twice a year after that, falling in love during those times they do see each other. Barring the way, of course, are a number of misunderstandings.
The characters actually showed a lot of growth, especially the hero, who started out a gambling wastrel and ended up getting an actual job. The heroine was 16 at the beginning of the book and 19 by the end, so her progress was more expected.
This book also contained a number of (probably unintentionally) humorous lines.
Page 31: "Coolly he began to loosen the buttons of his pants. Horrified, Marianne watched him pull his trousers off completely, exposing long, dark, exceptionally hairy legs." (After reading that, I giggled quite a bit every time the hero appeared, imagining his exceptionally hairy legs.)
Page 100: (After the heroine gave him some embroidered handkerchiefs) "...He thought of Marianne every time he wiped his nose."
And then there was a part about Saint Augustine and how if they were reading his Confessions for school he couldn't possibly have done anything all that scandalous, which is probably only funny to me because I just read it for a philosophy class.
Quite often, the narrative would be from an omniscient viewpoint, which got kind of annoying after a while. It's okay a couple of times, but this book used it far too much.
And then there was the part of the book where the heroine just up and went to university. Now, I'm not entirely sure of my facts, but I'm pretty sure that women did not go to all men's universities in 1857, and that it was a pretty big issue for feminists of the time. I don't believe that universities became integrated until the 1870s at the earliest. So this definitely pushed my belief.
Also, the author seemed to lack a clear sense of time. Something that took a couple of weeks for the hero seemed to take six months for the heroine. The hero had apparently attained his majority only two years ago, yet had owned his house for 10 years, since he was finished with college. Maybe the author just didn't know the age of majority is 21 or typoed ten as two.
Anyway, even with all that, I did like this book. No nobility anywhere, which was actually quite a pleasant surprise. The hero's maternal great-grandfather was a baron, and his neighbor was a baronet, but that was about it. The hero actually went out and got a job when he needed money, rather than trying to gamble for it.
This book was pretty ridiculous, yet I actually rather liked it.
The plot: Peter Desmond is gambling with some not-friends when one offers up his ward in place of money. Our hero, thinking he means a prostitute, is glad to accept after seeing her photograph. Our heroine, at the tender age of sixteen, is just glad to get away from her creep of a guardian. So the heroine goes to the hero's house, where he nearly rapes her, but stops once he realizes she really meant it when she said no. (Is it sad that I actually feel proud of a hero when he resists raping the heroine?) He then sends her off to school and they see each other about twice a year after that, falling in love during those times they do see each other. Barring the way, of course, are a number of misunderstandings.
The characters actually showed a lot of growth, especially the hero, who started out a gambling wastrel and ended up getting an actual job. The heroine was 16 at the beginning of the book and 19 by the end, so her progress was more expected.
This book also contained a number of (probably unintentionally) humorous lines.
Page 31: "Coolly he began to loosen the buttons of his pants. Horrified, Marianne watched him pull his trousers off completely, exposing long, dark, exceptionally hairy legs." (After reading that, I giggled quite a bit every time the hero appeared, imagining his exceptionally hairy legs.)
Page 100: (After the heroine gave him some embroidered handkerchiefs) "...He thought of Marianne every time he wiped his nose."
And then there was a part about Saint Augustine and how if they were reading his Confessions for school he couldn't possibly have done anything all that scandalous, which is probably only funny to me because I just read it for a philosophy class.
Quite often, the narrative would be from an omniscient viewpoint, which got kind of annoying after a while. It's okay a couple of times, but this book used it far too much.
And then there was the part of the book where the heroine just up and went to university. Now, I'm not entirely sure of my facts, but I'm pretty sure that women did not go to all men's universities in 1857, and that it was a pretty big issue for feminists of the time. I don't believe that universities became integrated until the 1870s at the earliest. So this definitely pushed my belief.
Also, the author seemed to lack a clear sense of time. Something that took a couple of weeks for the hero seemed to take six months for the heroine. The hero had apparently attained his majority only two years ago, yet had owned his house for 10 years, since he was finished with college. Maybe the author just didn't know the age of majority is 21 or typoed ten as two.
Anyway, even with all that, I did like this book. No nobility anywhere, which was actually quite a pleasant surprise. The hero's maternal great-grandfather was a baron, and his neighbor was a baronet, but that was about it. The hero actually went out and got a job when he needed money, rather than trying to gamble for it.
May 4, 2025
Reviewed for THC Reviews
"3.5 stars" The Wager is a stand-alone, historical romance set in the Victorian era. After her parents died, Marianne became the ward of Horace Carstairs, an unscrupulous man involved in all sorts of shady business dealings. During a poker game with Peter Desmond, Horace wagers Marianne as part of his bet and loses. Marianne believes she’s being sent to live with a kindly, older philanthropist, so she’s a bit unnerved to find her new guardian is a handsome younger man. But when he tries to take liberties with her, she’s truly terrified. Peter thought Marianne was merely a tart who was playing mistress to Carstairs, so it takes him a bit to realize that her innocence isn’t merely an act. Once he does, he’s properly guilt-ridden, but knowing that if he sends her back to Horace, the man will likely just prostitute her again, he decides to make her his legal ward. Peter provides for Marianne and sends her to a ladies finishing school to complete her education. They only see each other on school holidays, but an attraction begins to take root as they get to know one another better. Marianne begins to have feelings for Peter, but after finding a letter from Horace inviting him to take part in a scheme to prostitute other young girls, she isn’t sure she can trust him. For his part, Peter wants nothing to do with it, and instead hires investigators to track down girls that Carstairs has taken and return them to their families, as well as do things to sabotage Carstairs’s other business ventures. But when Carstairs learns the truth about Peter’s role in his downfall, he sets out to get revenge.
During her early teen years, Marianne’s parents died. Her father was indebted to Horace, who was a moneylender, so when he came to collect on the debt, he found himself saddled with guardianship of Marianne as part of his compensation. When the story opens, Marianne is sixteen and has been living with “Uncle” Horace for two years. The man is a reckless gambler, and when he isn’t doing well at the gaming tables, he takes it out on Marianne, physically abusing her. When Horace tells Marianne that she’s going to live with one Peter Desmond, she’s somewhat relieved just to be getting away from her guardian. However, discovering that Peter is young and handsome instead of the kindly older gentleman she envisioned, along with the way that he looks at her, makes Marianne uncomfortable, and when he escorts her to his bedroom that night and begins taking liberties with her, she’s truly terrified. Before he’s gone too far, though, Peter realizes that her fear and innocence isn’t just an act, and when he finds out how young she really is, he doesn’t touch her again. Instead, he makes her his ward and arranges for her to attend school. When Marianne sees Peter on her holidays, she’s still a bit wary of him, but as they get to know one another, she begins to have feelings for him. Then she finds a letter on his desk from Horace discussing a prostitution scheme, and she isn’t sure if he can be trusted. Just as she’s about to make a decision about her future with Peter, he disappears and she comes to fear that Horace may have had something to do with it. Marianne was a pretty good heroine, but I didn’t feel like her characterization went very deep. With her background, she could have been very tortured, but instead she seems to experience few, if any, ill effects from losing her parents so young and being abused at Horace’s hands. I also sometimes felt like I didn’t fully understand her reasons for thinking or doing some of the things she does.
Peter had a good upbringing, but during his teen years, he fell in with a school chum who led him down the path to becoming a dissolute rake, something that damaged his relationship with his parents, who he’s barely seen since. He inherited an old family estate from his grandfather, and it’s a place where he finds a sense of home and solace. Aside from the modest income from the estate, Peter mostly makes a living by gambling, something that he’s very good at, and it’s during a poker game that he wins Marianne. He finds her attractive, and believing she’s merely a tart who’d been servicing Horace, he thinks nothing of trying to sleep with her. Even when she protests, he imagines it’s all part of a game she’s playing until she starts crying. At that point, he finally discovers the truth of her youth and innocence and feels guilty for what he’s done. However, knowing that if he returned her to Horace, the man would just sell her again, Peter decides to legally make her his ward and makes sure she has everything she needs, including finishing her schooling. When he sees Marianne on holidays, he finds he still wants her and gradually begins to feel more for her than mere lust, but she rebuffs his advances. When the letter arrives from Horace, trying to entice him into the prostitution scheme, he’s horrified and decides to rescue the girls instead, while also completely ruining Horace’s business endeavors so he can’t do it again. But when Horace becomes aware of Peter’s involvement in his downfall, he seeks revenge. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked Peter given that he accepted a woman as part of his gambling “winnings,” but as he turns things around and tries to make amends by being the noble defender of the young women Horace is trying to profit from, I liked him much better. However, much like Marianne, I didn’t feel like his characterization went very deep.
The Wager has been languishing on my TBR shelf ever since I was a member of the Harlequin Historical subscription service years ago. I’m glad that I finally got around to reading it, but it didn’t really grab me the way I would have liked. First of all, the writing style leaves a lot of distance between the reader and the characters, because it’s composed in a more omniscient POV. There are a number of little asides where the author inserts her own perspective, in essence saying that a character doesn’t know something but this is what’s happening behind the scenes. This style just doesn’t work well for me. I much prefer deep character POV where I learn what’s happening as the characters do. Because of not having deeper character introspection, I often didn’t understand their motivations. I kept asking lots of “why” questions in my mind while reading. Why wasn’t Marianne more affected by her past? Why was Peter a dissolute rake (aside from his friend leading him astray, which was rather weak reasoning)? Late in the story, why did Marianne decide to wager her virginity against Peter’s estate? This was something that never came to fruition anyway, so it seemed rather pointless. Why did Peter suddenly turn his life around and start playing the good guy? Sure, he felt guilty about what he did to Marianne, but it wasn’t brought out strongly enough to make a full 180 and full destruction mode against Horace completely believable. Why was Horace such a tool? He seemed to just be evil for the sake of being evil. And these are only a few of the bigger issues. When I have this many questions, it makes it difficult to immerse myself in the story.
I will give the author some credit for doing a fun role-reversal in which the ladies end up helping to rescue the men from our villain. However, the way they did it, getting locked in themselves, wasn’t exactly smart. I suppose, all’s well that ends well, though. Another small quibble I have is that while the author didn’t seem to have any compunction about writing a moderately descriptive non-con moment between Peter and Marianne when they first meet, there are no actual love scenes when they finally get together for real. Bottom line: The Wager had a few too many flaws for me to call it a genuinely good story. I did find some enjoyment in reading it, though, which puts it in the okay category, but I probably wouldn’t be in a hurry to seek out more books by this author.
"3.5 stars" The Wager is a stand-alone, historical romance set in the Victorian era. After her parents died, Marianne became the ward of Horace Carstairs, an unscrupulous man involved in all sorts of shady business dealings. During a poker game with Peter Desmond, Horace wagers Marianne as part of his bet and loses. Marianne believes she’s being sent to live with a kindly, older philanthropist, so she’s a bit unnerved to find her new guardian is a handsome younger man. But when he tries to take liberties with her, she’s truly terrified. Peter thought Marianne was merely a tart who was playing mistress to Carstairs, so it takes him a bit to realize that her innocence isn’t merely an act. Once he does, he’s properly guilt-ridden, but knowing that if he sends her back to Horace, the man will likely just prostitute her again, he decides to make her his legal ward. Peter provides for Marianne and sends her to a ladies finishing school to complete her education. They only see each other on school holidays, but an attraction begins to take root as they get to know one another better. Marianne begins to have feelings for Peter, but after finding a letter from Horace inviting him to take part in a scheme to prostitute other young girls, she isn’t sure she can trust him. For his part, Peter wants nothing to do with it, and instead hires investigators to track down girls that Carstairs has taken and return them to their families, as well as do things to sabotage Carstairs’s other business ventures. But when Carstairs learns the truth about Peter’s role in his downfall, he sets out to get revenge.
During her early teen years, Marianne’s parents died. Her father was indebted to Horace, who was a moneylender, so when he came to collect on the debt, he found himself saddled with guardianship of Marianne as part of his compensation. When the story opens, Marianne is sixteen and has been living with “Uncle” Horace for two years. The man is a reckless gambler, and when he isn’t doing well at the gaming tables, he takes it out on Marianne, physically abusing her. When Horace tells Marianne that she’s going to live with one Peter Desmond, she’s somewhat relieved just to be getting away from her guardian. However, discovering that Peter is young and handsome instead of the kindly older gentleman she envisioned, along with the way that he looks at her, makes Marianne uncomfortable, and when he escorts her to his bedroom that night and begins taking liberties with her, she’s truly terrified. Before he’s gone too far, though, Peter realizes that her fear and innocence isn’t just an act, and when he finds out how young she really is, he doesn’t touch her again. Instead, he makes her his ward and arranges for her to attend school. When Marianne sees Peter on her holidays, she’s still a bit wary of him, but as they get to know one another, she begins to have feelings for him. Then she finds a letter on his desk from Horace discussing a prostitution scheme, and she isn’t sure if he can be trusted. Just as she’s about to make a decision about her future with Peter, he disappears and she comes to fear that Horace may have had something to do with it. Marianne was a pretty good heroine, but I didn’t feel like her characterization went very deep. With her background, she could have been very tortured, but instead she seems to experience few, if any, ill effects from losing her parents so young and being abused at Horace’s hands. I also sometimes felt like I didn’t fully understand her reasons for thinking or doing some of the things she does.
Peter had a good upbringing, but during his teen years, he fell in with a school chum who led him down the path to becoming a dissolute rake, something that damaged his relationship with his parents, who he’s barely seen since. He inherited an old family estate from his grandfather, and it’s a place where he finds a sense of home and solace. Aside from the modest income from the estate, Peter mostly makes a living by gambling, something that he’s very good at, and it’s during a poker game that he wins Marianne. He finds her attractive, and believing she’s merely a tart who’d been servicing Horace, he thinks nothing of trying to sleep with her. Even when she protests, he imagines it’s all part of a game she’s playing until she starts crying. At that point, he finally discovers the truth of her youth and innocence and feels guilty for what he’s done. However, knowing that if he returned her to Horace, the man would just sell her again, Peter decides to legally make her his ward and makes sure she has everything she needs, including finishing her schooling. When he sees Marianne on holidays, he finds he still wants her and gradually begins to feel more for her than mere lust, but she rebuffs his advances. When the letter arrives from Horace, trying to entice him into the prostitution scheme, he’s horrified and decides to rescue the girls instead, while also completely ruining Horace’s business endeavors so he can’t do it again. But when Horace becomes aware of Peter’s involvement in his downfall, he seeks revenge. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked Peter given that he accepted a woman as part of his gambling “winnings,” but as he turns things around and tries to make amends by being the noble defender of the young women Horace is trying to profit from, I liked him much better. However, much like Marianne, I didn’t feel like his characterization went very deep.
The Wager has been languishing on my TBR shelf ever since I was a member of the Harlequin Historical subscription service years ago. I’m glad that I finally got around to reading it, but it didn’t really grab me the way I would have liked. First of all, the writing style leaves a lot of distance between the reader and the characters, because it’s composed in a more omniscient POV. There are a number of little asides where the author inserts her own perspective, in essence saying that a character doesn’t know something but this is what’s happening behind the scenes. This style just doesn’t work well for me. I much prefer deep character POV where I learn what’s happening as the characters do. Because of not having deeper character introspection, I often didn’t understand their motivations. I kept asking lots of “why” questions in my mind while reading. Why wasn’t Marianne more affected by her past? Why was Peter a dissolute rake (aside from his friend leading him astray, which was rather weak reasoning)? Late in the story, why did Marianne decide to wager her virginity against Peter’s estate? This was something that never came to fruition anyway, so it seemed rather pointless. Why did Peter suddenly turn his life around and start playing the good guy? Sure, he felt guilty about what he did to Marianne, but it wasn’t brought out strongly enough to make a full 180 and full destruction mode against Horace completely believable. Why was Horace such a tool? He seemed to just be evil for the sake of being evil. And these are only a few of the bigger issues. When I have this many questions, it makes it difficult to immerse myself in the story.
I will give the author some credit for doing a fun role-reversal in which the ladies end up helping to rescue the men from our villain. However, the way they did it, getting locked in themselves, wasn’t exactly smart. I suppose, all’s well that ends well, though. Another small quibble I have is that while the author didn’t seem to have any compunction about writing a moderately descriptive non-con moment between Peter and Marianne when they first meet, there are no actual love scenes when they finally get together for real. Bottom line: The Wager had a few too many flaws for me to call it a genuinely good story. I did find some enjoyment in reading it, though, which puts it in the okay category, but I probably wouldn’t be in a hurry to seek out more books by this author.
April 7, 2010
This has to be one of the most contrived and deliriously dramatic and optimistic books I've ever read and yet I really loved it.
December 5, 2017
Giunta quasi a due terzi, mi arrendo. Questi due protagonisti fanno un tira-e-molla così angosciante che non ce la posso proprio fare.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews