Beauvallet: Gossip, scandal and an unforgettable Regency romance

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All of the fake defiance and bitchiness that she'd displayed when she was Nick's 'captive' suddenly became real when she was truly in danger. Nick and Dominica have some nail-biting adventures, alone and together, before their final nick-of-time escape. Sir Nicholas Beauvallet (Nick) practices piracy upon the Spanish as a form of unofficial warfare – at the behest of Queen Elizabeth I.

By the third part, she's in the clutches of the villain, Nick's hard on her heels to save her, and I suddenly liked her a great deal more. Dominica took a little warming to because she was so obviously drawn to Nick even while she was still giving him the cold shoulder. reprint, [viii], 244pp, salmon pink cloth lettered in maroon at spine and upper board, uniform edition, pictorial dustwrapper (unattrib. Her first novel, The Black Moth , published in 1921, was written at the age of seventeen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was My Lord John .The first part of the book unfolds the romance, and the second half follows Beauvallet as he attempts to keeps his word to find Dominica and bring her to England. Spine has several smudges/stains, is heavily sunned, and with significant losses at head and tail of spine and also open scrapes in the center of spine - see photos. Dominica shows her own mettle and wits in holding off her ruthless aunt and guardian, who plans to marry her son to Dominica's extensive fortune, but her despair and feeling of aloneness are almost palpable before Nick shows up. Dialogues were funny as usual, secondary characters quirky, the basic plot rather simple but nonetheless effective. There he meets the young Chevalier Claude de Guise, on a mission to deliver a secret message to the Spanish King.

I found that it had a really slow start - about 30 percent to set up the situation before any adventuring happened. Finding the beautiful Dominica on board the Spanish galleon is a surprise, but Beauvallet commits himself to taking them safely to a Spanish port despite how incredibly dangerous and reckless it is. I have even read a few random pages from Devil's Cub (one of my favorite Heyer's books) to check if I am not exaggerating.

I have 39 of her romances (she also wrote about eight detective books with the help of her detective husband, but I've not read any of them); there are about three or four I don't have, though I've read almost all of them. Some of the characters are interesting, especially the evil aunt Beatrice who moves like a snail, but leaves a trail of slime behind her (I can’t remember the exact words). Joshua brings a needed comic touch into the suspense; he is quite garrulous, by turns complainer and braggart.