Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer

This is another of Heyer's earlier novels and not among my favourites. It involves kidnappings and abductions and I prefer her gentler comedies of manners. It is set in the 18th century. The heroine is Deborah Grantham who comes from a genteel family, but they have no money. She has an aunt who looked after her from childhood and a brother Christopher, who is an army officer but he is living on his pay. He is good natured but selfish. Deborah's aunt, Lady Bellingham, has been very good to her niece and nephew but she is hopeless with money. She tries to make a living by discreetly running a gambling house. She invites gentlemen to her home to play cards and games of chance. But she is not much good at making money, as she is extravagant... Deborah is a good looking young woman and a lot of men come to the house to see her. But her being a gaming house hostess means that she is not going to be invited to society events where she might meet a suitable husband. However, Adrian Mablethorpe, a young man of 19 or so, who has a title and a fortune, goes to the house. He becomes smitten with Deborah, and asks her to marry him. Deborah is reluctant to encourage him, as she is an honourable girl and she at 24 is 5 years his senior. She knows that his family would not accept her as his wife... But Lady Bellingham is getting increasingly desperate and she tries to encourage Deb to consider Adrian as a husband. Or alternatively, she could scare his family into buying her off by paying her money to stay away from him.

Regency Buck IV

Worth and Taverner fight and Worth knocks him down... and Judith realises that her guardian has been trying to help her all the time....She knows now that it was Bernard who was her enemy and Perry's. Taverner slinks off, his cover blown and she turns to Worth for comfort. He tells her that he has been keeping a watch on Perry for some time, and that the poisoned snuff was a gift from Taverner. Worth did drug Perry's wine when he came to the house. He then put him safely on his yacht, until he could flush Taverner into the open... She learns then that old Admiral Taverner while a tiresome old man, was not involved in the murder and marriage plots, and he's ashamed of his son. Perry comes back ashore and is delighted by his trip to sea. He wants to buy a yacht for himself. Judith is feeling very depressed, because she realises that she cares for Worth, and that her wilful ways may have made him take a dislike to her. She is almost 21 now and won't be his ward any longer. Perry will be getting married soon and she feel upset that she will be alone. After her birthday, she receives a visit from Worth to hand over legal papers, and he slips a ring on her finger. He reminds her that while she was his ward, it would have been inappropriate for him to pay court to her, but he has always cared for her. They become engaged.

Regency Buck Part III

Judith and Perry try to get on with Lord Worth but he is a strict guardian. Judith feels that he does not like any of her suitors, and particularly dislikes Bernard Taverner. She becomes uneasy, since Worth is a dandy and fond of gaming. She hears rumours that he might be looking out for a rich wife. She herself has a large fortune and if her brother were to die without an heir, she would inherit most of his fortune as well. She is concerned when Worth has them to stay at his country house for Christmas. While there, Perry receives a jar of snuff as a present. He does not know who sent it, and he becomes unwell while staying there. However he recovers and she tries not to worry. Lord Worth's brother, Charles, is a soldier in the Peninsula. He is home on leave due to an injury. He flirts with Judith and she likes him but does not take him seriously. She also receives a proposal from the Duke of Clarence (a real life royal) who was at that time looking for a rich wife. She turns him down, with backing from her guardian. Perry has been enjoying society life, and has fallen in love with a shy girl of modest means, called Harriet Fairford. Worth agrees that they can get engaged if Perry still wants to marry her in 6 months time. Perry remains faithful and in due course, the engagement is announced. Judith has been uneasy about Worth, but his allowing Perry to become engaged shows that he is not trying to prevent his ward from fathering heirs. Worth asks Perry to come round to his house to sign some papers, and after that he does not return home. Judith is a bit worried when he does not come home, and tries to allay her worries. However, she then has a visit from Bernard Taverner, who tells her he can take her to Perry who has been injured. Judith goes with him, feeling uneasy, and fearing that her original idea was right and that Worth has done some harm to her brother. Bernard drives her to a cottage outside town, where there is a woman who takes her in. Judith, now very scared, asks what is going on... Taverner tells her that he loves her, but he also needs a rich wife, and he is prepared to compel her to marry him. Horrified, she realises that if she is kept in this house, she will be compromised and may have to marry her cousin. She tells him that if he needed money, he had only to ask her or Perry and they would help him out. To her amazement, Worth breaks in and tells her that her cousin was not likely to settle for a bit of help when he could get hold of 2 fortunes by marrying her and killing Perry.

Regency Buck Part II

Judith is not happy at having this man who seems arrogant and unfriendly, as her guardian but she is not that far off 21, so she is willing to put up with him. Worth intimates that he did not want the Taverners to come to London but, if they are there, he will give them an introduction to Society. He introduces them to his cousin, Mrs Scattergood, who agrees to act as chaperone to Judith, and he offers to hire staff. Judith is a beauty and has a large fortune, so she expects to be reasonably popular. Perry soon makes friends with young sporting gentleman, and they both like Mrs Scattergood. They then meet their uncle, Admiral Taverner, who has not been on speaking terms with his brother John for many years. He has a son, Bernard, who turns out to be the man who let them have his rooms at the inn. Judith likes Bernard and he seems to be taken with her good looks. Neither of them much like the old Admiral, who is stupid and coarse, but accept him as a family member.

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.

Arabella Part II

Mr Beaumaris is becoming attached to Arabella, and while he finds her naive, he is touched by her kindness to the poor. She is worrying that she came to London to have a Season and find a suitable husband who could give her an establishment. But she knows most of her suitors are not well off and they are only courting her because they believe that she is the one with the fortune. Then Bertram her brother, turns up in London using a false name. He is supposed to be going to college, but he really wants to be a soldier. However, his father, who is a scholarly gentle parson, has set his heart on his sons finding suitable genteel careers. Bertram goes into society but mostly hangs out with a few friends who lodge in the poorer areas. He is delighted to be in London, and enjoys himself gaming and drinking. Arabella is shocked that her brother is being so wild, and then she finds that he has contracted gaming debts and is in serious trouble. She does not know how she can help him, but thinks of a way. Mr Beaumaris had asked her to marry him but she had to say no because she could not admit to having no fortune. Now she tells him that she does want to marry him. He has met Bertram a few times and has worked out the problem, so he agrees to the marriage. Arabella tells him she thinks it would be romantic to elope, since she's afraid of delaying the marriage. Mr Beaumaris agrees and carries her off... but takes her to Richmond and puts her in the care of his elderly grandmother. The Duchess of Wigan is an old lady, but she is fond of her grandson and agrees to look after Arabella. Mr Beaumaris tells her that he has been to Yorkshire and met her parents. He says he knows she is not an heiress but he likes her family and will do his best to help out her younger brothers and sisters in their careers or lives. Arabella is ashamed of how foolishly she has behaved but she has fallen in love with him and is glad to marry him. He tells her that he thinks Bertram should go into the army, and that if he grows a set of whiskers, the Society people he met won't recognise him in a few years, under his rightful name.

Arabella by Heyer

This is not one of my favourite Heyers, as the heroine is rather tiresomely naive. Arabella is a vicar's daughter from Yorkshire. Her uncle is the local squire, but her father is only the second son, so he is not very rich. But she has a wealthy godmother who invites her to come to London and have a Season. On the way, her carriage breaks down and she and the lady who is travelling with her, a governess, have to take shelter at a hunting box, while the carriage is being repaired. Arabella overhears Mr Beaumaris, the wealthy gentleman who owns the house, say to his friend that young women are always trying to contrive to get to know him, because he is so rich. Annoyed that he thinks of her as trying to catch him, Arabella pretends that she is a very rich heiress and that she too is bothered by suitors who want to marry her because of her fortune. When she gets to London, she finds that Mr Beaumaris is indeed a figure in society. She regrets her silly boasting.. The rumour that she is rich starts to go around and she finds that a lot of men are indeed paying court to her because of her supposed wealth. Arabella is also a kindly girl who takes her responsibilities as a Vicar's daughter seriously, and she is shocked by the various social problems in London. She becomes friendly with one of her godmother's maids. She also takes up the cause of animals being ill treated by their owners, and rescues a climbing boy. Mr Beaumaris, who has guessed that she is not the heiress she claims to be, finds himself being asked frequently to help out with her lame ducks. He ends up adopting a dog she rescued, and finding a home on his estate for the climbing boy.