Title:
Lord Compton’s
Folly

Author:
Patricia Harrison

Published By:
Amber Quill
Press

ISBN #:
1-59279-261-8 Electronic
1-59279-839-X
Print

Release Date:
Available Now

Format:
Electronic

Patricia Harrison has done it again! This enchanting full-length Regency romance was so good that this reader did not want it to end. It is set in both France and England in the aftermath of Napoleon’s downfall. Ms. Harrison’s charming romance takes place against a backdrop of espionage, misunderstandings and family drama. With a touch of humour and some very down-to-earth characters, the author had this reader riveted.

Richard Handley, Viscount Compton, is the second son of the Earl of Belmond. During his misspent youth, Lord Compton had indulged in all of the excesses of wealth – women, gambling and drinking. He had joined the war against Napoleon as if it was another amusement. The reality of the situation became more apparent when his older brother, the heir, was killed. The shallowness of his previous lifestyle now left Richard despondent and at a loss of how to carry on in a society he felt was trivial. He was in Paris when a close friend, Lord Walter FitzGibbon arrived at his doorstep seriously wounded. As a spy, FitzGibbon is insistent that his papers be delivered. So Richard, disguised as a labourer, takes his place. He is attacked whilst travelling to Calais. Lucky to escape, he collapses near a stream, certain he is dying.

Mademoiselle Fleur Benet de Montigny is on the verge of destitution. She lives on the remaining Montigny estate with her two loyal servants, Gaston and Marie Broussard. Her parents are both deceased so the servants remain more as guardians to the young woman that they adore. Fleur is desperate to travel to England to find her mother’s family. Her mother had related fond memories of her own childhood in England, but her life had been changed forever when her parents cut her off after she married her French suitor. Fleur did not even know the family’s name but was determined to learn of her heritage.

Fortune smiles upon Fleur when Gaston brings home a wounded man. He is close to death. She slowly nurses him back to full health. Richard tries to keep his cover as a French worker but Fleur sees straight through him. He is a man who is used to being obeyed and in control, never really behaving as a labourer. Richard must meet at a rendezvous point to get home with the papers and Fleur very cleverly manages to talk her way onto the boat back to England with him. To maintain her reputation, Richard leaves Fleur at his country estate while he travels to London to complete the mission. She is at a loss when told by a maid that Richard is to be married to “the Incomparable Caro.” Deep down, Fleur has always known that he could never be with an impoverished French spinster. In London, Richard finds his thoughts constantly returning to Fleur, he misses her amusing tales and mad schemes.

It is refreshing to come across a romance in which the main characters enjoy a budding love, not constant friction. Even with her dire circumstances, Fleur is a proud woman and accepts that she can never marry a man so far above her station. Richard is also governed by his father and his strong sense of responsibility to do the right thing. Ms. Harrison keeps her characters true to the Regency period and they do not step over the boundaries of propriety. As one would expect, love prevails, the author introducing many new obstacles and hindrances, which make their eventual coming together all the sweeter. I have thoroughly enjoyed this Regency tale and look forward to more of Ms. Harrison’s romances. Very highly recommended reading!



Reviewed by: Naomi