Regency Buck

This is Heyer's first proper Regency novel.. and it is a bit too heavy on research. It is a murder mystery as much as a romance. It opens with the Taverners, a wealthy brother and sister who come from Yorkshire, deciding to go to London, to join in Society there. Peregrine, the brother is only 19 and rather foolish. Judith is his older sister who is over 20. On the way, they find that there are no rooms for them at the inn.. and are relieved when a dark and handsome gentleman tells them they can have his rooms, as he has friends in the neighbourhood. Judith is properly grateful, but Perry wants to see a boxing match in the area, so she is left alone while he goes out. She goes for a walk, and gets a stone in her shoe, and a man drivng a sporting carriage stops to rescue her. She is embarrasssed and tries to brush him off, but he teases her and kisses her. She knows that going out without a maid was foolish, but she is angry at his presumption. The couple travel on to London. Their father died some time previously, leaving them with a large fortune each and naming his friend the Earl of Worth as their guardian. However when they get to London and visit Lord Worth, they find that he is the man who kissed Judith. He is only in his 30s, but they learn that their father was not aware that old Lord Worth had died - and Sir John Taverner made another mistake in that he named his friend as the 5th Earl of Worth, and that is the present earl.