Regency Buck

This is Heyer's first proper Regency novel.. and it is not bad but 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 take part in the social season there. Peregrine, the brother is only 19 and foolish. Judith is his older sister who is 20 but still under age. On the way, in a town near London, they find that although she had reserved rooms in an inn there, something has gone wrong and the rooms are not available. So she's relieved when a handsome gentleman tells them they can have his rooms, as he has friends in the neighbourhood. Judith is 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 driving a sporting carriage stops to rescue her. She is embarrassed 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. She and Perry travel on to London. Their father died some time previously, leaving them with a large fortune each. Judith has £80,000 and Perry has a large estate. The father named 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. Sir John Taverner made another mistake in that he named his friend as the 5th Earl of Worth, and that is the present earl. So legally, the present earl is their guardian.