3 Stars
Amusing story of succession.
This is really not a romance, but more of a family dynamics' vehicle. You have the unforeknown, dark horse relative of mixed origins hailing from the northern hinterlands plopped into the decaying Sussex/Kent gentry of the Darracotts. The "new", not really new, but new to all but Lord Darracott coming to meet the family after the heir apparent's unexpected demise, Hugo wastes no time in playing the idiot to meet his family's expectations.
Done for more amusement than spite, nonetheless, you see who figures out that the country bumpkin oaf isn't as slow-witted as they thought, and that the title of major was not given lightly. It was earned. You have a range of male relations from the overbearing to the dandy explored, and slowly, as this story does take its time unwinding. But by the end, Hugo has won over the esteem of his relatives and with practically no interaction the hand of his cousin, Anthea.
"What a delightful thing it is to know that if I am such a wet-goose as to marry you I shall be able to depend on having a husband who won't hesitate to the take the wind out of my eye every time I try to get a point the better of him!"
There were more quips by other characters regarding their relationship then expounded on by Hugo and Anthea together. If you enjoy the charm of county seat Regency stories then this is entertaining.
"You can't go about smelling of April and May, the pair of you, and then expect to gull people into thinking you don't mean to get riveted!"
The language was more colloquial than I'm used to with the Heyer novels I've read. Luckily, I have some practical experience and the contextual clues were quite good so the reader really wasn't left to wander wondering what terms meant.
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