Christmas Awards 2011

Monday 23 April 2007

Mistaken Mistress


MISTAKEN MISTRESS
BY
MARGARET McPHEE.
ISBN 13-978-0-263-84673-3
10-263-84673-3
Kathryn Marchant left penniless and alone in the world, after the sudden death of her father, knows it would be of no use to contact her mother's family for help. Her father’s brother and his family take her in. She is cruelly treated and used as extra, unpaid servant in their household. Given barely enough food to eat she is thin and gaunt looking and with only poor clothes to wear is never likely to attract a husband, what can her future hold?
Kathryn, when she is not working hard, daydreams and fills her life with make- believe stories, mostly about a certain Lord Ravensmead. He is a notorious rake and would have no eyes for such a mousy young woman, she knows.
At a ball, given by Lady Finely, where Kathryn was attending with her cousin Lottie, as her companion, she inadvertently hides in a room with no light on but the reflection of the silvery moon shinning through a large window. Mesmerised by the pale moonlight she didn’t hear, until it was too late to escape, the door open and a man slip into the room. She pressed herself back against the wall but he heard her and coming towards her he took her in his arms and made love to her, mistaking her for his lover. Suddenly a lady erupts into the room, and sees Kathryn in the arms of her lover. This is the start of Kathryn’s downfall.
If her Aunt were to hear of this episode it would be disastrous for Kathryn’s future. Will Lord Ravensmead protect her name? Can he stop his furious lover from spreading the story of what she has seen?
Lord Ravensmead begins to seek Kathryn out and finds surprisingly, that the little sparrow as he nicknames her, has hidden depths, she intrigues him and he determines to find out more about her. What he finds horrifies him and he rescues her from her family, by hiring her as his Grandmother’s companion. Her Aunt and Uncle are furious and plan their revenge. Can Lord Ravensmead secure a real future for Kathryn? Perhaps by finding her a husband? Does he really want to?Read the book and find the answers, I did and enjoyed it
I award this book 4 roses. AS

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