Lord Fenmore's Wager
By Alissa Baxter  

     Young Anthony Hamilton returns from a night of drinking and gambling to inform his sister, Diana, that he had gambled away his estate and his sister to Julian the Earl of Fenmore. Anthony has never cared about the estate. He only wants to join the colors. Diana however loves Aldridge, having managed the estate since the death of their parents.

      Diana is to go to Fenmore to be governess to the Earl's ten-year-old twin nephews while their tutor recovers from scarlet fever, and to be companion to his mother, Lady Fenmore. Fenmore claims to have done Anthony and Diana a favor by taking Anthony's wager to avoid their falling into the clutches of Marcus Bateman, allegedly the biggest libertine in London. Diana is made a member of the Fenmore household and adopted by Lady Fenmore. She fights against her attraction to Julian while Julian, a confirmed bachelor who was jilted in his salad days for a wealthier nobleman, attempts to resist his attraction to her.

      When Diana receives an unexpected legacy from her godfather, she leaves Fenmore Park and departs for Bath to live with her godmother. In Bath, she renews her lifelong friendship with Sir Max Sinclair. Julian finds life at Fenmore Park empty without Diana and goes to Bath, where he finds Diana and Max. To protect her from the attentions of Marcus Bateman, Julian proposes, only to be refused because Diana feels he is still in love with his love of years ago. There are many complications to be resolved before true love wins.

      This is a well-written Regency romance with a cast of charming and interesting characters who interact beautifully with each other. The action is smooth and constant. The spirit of the times and the people is successfully portrayed.

     Alissa Baxter is a welcome addition to the Regency romance writers. We hope we will see more from her in the future.