Hoyt's Maiden Lane Series (Wicked Intentions: Book 1)

Maiden Lane (Book One: Wicked Intentions)

Elizabeth Hoyt

Stars:  Definitely ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (mystery; tortured hero; murders; Ghost of St. Giles is the GOAT; awesome characters—we meet Winter, swoon)

Heat rating:  A SWEET 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (see the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section.)

Okay, so the Maiden Lane Series is my absolute favorite romance series. I am in love with several of the heroes (and at least three of the heroines). I will be reviewing nearly all of these novels (and novellas) eventually. I do love this book, though not as much as my favorites in the series (5+ star favorites, in favorites order: 4: Thief of Shadows; 8: Dearest Rogue; 6: Duke of Midnight; 3: Scandalous Desires; 2: Notorious Pleasures; 5: Lord of Darkness—these are my faves that I’ve reread dozens of times, but all of the books are worth reading). Yes, you really do need to read them in order (including the novellas and the extras on the website—as I mention below, Elizabeth Hoyt makes it easy to find the reading order and the extras).

So yeah, Elizabeth Hoyt gets major props for having family trees and other extras on her website. The care she’s taken with her webpage shows you that she cares about her readers.💞

COVER RATING: This one gets a C, because it is just NOT Lazarus. Long silver hair is not short blond hair. Also, the pic leaves out that magnificent chest hair. To me, he is 100% Henry Cavill in The Witcher. Wait till you read his description in the book. You’ll agree. At the VERY LEAST, since I know silver hair is rare on a youthful man, he could be Orlando Bloom in LOTR. Plus it would have been nice to have Temperance in it as well. But covers are not why I read books.

Elizabeth Hoyt’s books always have stories at the beginning of each chapter. These usually correspond to the novel’s plot in some way. This one is about King Lockedheart—that name already insinuates that Lazarus will have some issues with opening his heart.

Anyway, it’s 1737, and we start out meeting Temperance Makepeace Dews, who is out in St. Giles with her maidservant, Nell. They’re clearly on a mission, because Temperance is trying to focus, but Nell’s telling her about the Ghost of St. Giles (important to the entire series), who wears a red and black harlequin suit. Temperance has a gun and they have a sick baby with them; they rescued the child—her mother is dead. We learn that Temperance and Nell (with her brother Winter, who is my favorite character in the series) run the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children, which legit sounds like a chapter in a Lemony Snicket book. They’re close to home when they run up on a weird AF scene, a man bleeding in an alley and a second man “crouched over the first, his black cloak spread to either side of him like the wings of a great bird of prey” (page 4). I love EH’s descriptions. I am IN that 18^th century alleyway, seeing all of this. But, here we get our first details about our H: he has long straight silver hair. Tell me this ain’t him? Temperance doesn’t know who he is, but Nell sure does because he’s notoroius: Lord Caire.

They get the baby home (they name her Mary Hope), praying she survives the night. And Temperance’s little brother Winter is there, disapproving over their nighttime escapades. Winter is 100% a taller Tom Holland. I’m sorry; I don’t make the rules. It’s just how it is. (Warning. I love Winter. I mean it. So you’ll be hearing a lot of Winter adoration in my reviews of these books. Just smile and nod.) “Winter’s smiles were so rare, so precious. When he smiled, his entire face lit as if from a flame within” (11). I want to make Winter smile  . . . Down, squirrel; I need to focus!

The home is in dire straits; Winter manages it, while also working full-time as a schoolmaster, though Temperance has been working at the home with him (and previously, their late father) since her husband died 9 years previously. Winter is running himself ragged trying to keep the home and the school going. But, if they don’t pay the landlord in 2 weeks, they’re all out on the street. Their previous patron, Sir Stanley Gilpin (remember that name; he’s important throughout the books), died just 6 months previously and their stream of revenue is GONE now. They need a new benefactor, fast. There are 28 children packed in the home, sleeping 3-4 to a bed. The home is falling down around their ears and they have barely any food. 😩

After Winter heads to bed, Temperance checks that all the doors and windows are secure and then goes down to her “study,” which is basically a closet off the kitchen, for tea and some time to herself. She backs into the room with her tea tray and . . . "there, sprawled on her chair like a conjured demon, sat Lord Caire” (15). Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is not old, silver hair or not, and he has startlingly blue eyes and a “softly dangerous” voice. Temperance is totally chill—she’s clearly not easily startled, and you get the feeling she’s been through some serious stuff in her life. He’s impressed by the fact that she’s not afraid of him, but “Lord Caire struck her as something of a predator, and it wouldn’t do to show fear in his presence” (20). I see him as some sort of fabulously disdainful silver, blue eyed cat; sadly, he hates cats. 😹

He comes right out with it: he has a proposition for her, and he’s got some leverage—he knows the rent is in arrears. He needs a nighttime guide in St. Giles, because he’s trying to find out something and he’s hitting brick walls because he’s clearly NOT a St. Giles sorta dude (I mean, he just looks fancy). He doesn’t tell her what type of guide, but she basically has to agree, because they’re in the direst of straits. Oh, but Temperance isn’t stupid—she’s getting something in return if she does this: she wants a new patron for the home and he needs to introduce her to the right people (oh and she wants a respectable patron, which is why she turns him down flat when he offers to do it—he ain’t offended; lol, he knows he’s bad news, and seems proud of it). And money because the kids are shoeless and almost starving. (Btw, all the kids are named Mary or Joseph.)

Lazarus is also uber annoying because he can’t even tell her who they’re looking for (Temperance seems like a planner, so this is driving her batshit). But she agreed, so she’s going through with it. She shakes his hand, and his response is odd. He does it quickly, as though touching her burned him. 🔥

The next day finds Lazarus in a coffeehouse with an old friend, Godric St. John, who features heavily in the rest of the series, including having his own story in book 5—the thought that the weirdly mysterious Lord Caire has friends is surprising. (Wait, make that FRIEND, singular. That’s more like it.) St. John is an odd duck, and I like him immediately—he gives off the air of a much older man, but he’s the same age as Lazarus, 35. It feels like St. John as something to hide and wants to appear unassuming. They’re discussing Wakefield, a peer who is extremely against gin. Look up the Gin Craze if you don’t know how gin affected England—EH also has GREAT info in her extras section. Check this out: St. Giles and the Gin Craze. Anyway, Wakefield is actually the Duke of Wakefield, Maximus Batten, who we will find much more about in the next book, as well as in his own book (book 6). (Note: I am not linking to the books like I usually do, because I really want you to read this series and refuse to spoil some of the big reveals, which the book descriptions might do.) Anyway, this interaction is important, because we learn what is driving Lazarus—the murder of his mistress, Marie.

Back at the home, Temperance is preparing to meet Lazarus, and Nell is concerned. See, she’s heard that Lazarus is a freak in the sheets, and worries about Temperance being alone with him. But hol’ up . . . if she thinks this will scare Temperance into canceling the agreement, she’s mistaken:

“Temperance suppressed a shiver at the thought of Lord Caire doing ‘terrible things’ to her. It should have been a shiver of revulsion. Instead, the thought of Lord Caire’s sexual proclivities made her unnaturally curious. That wicked wanton part of her sat up and twitched its nose, eager as ever to be let loose. That she couldn’t let happen. Once, long ago, she’d let her base nature take control and had committed an unforgivable sin. Ever since, she’d lived every day knowing she must atone and refrain from letting her demons loose again.” (30)

All Temperance is afraid of is the fact that she would like that freak-a-leek. Ooooh, Temperance has a wild side. Yeah, I like her.

So she takes him out into St. Giles and they go to a shop, and it’s the first time that Lazarus mentions a murder, which freaks the shopkeeper TF out. 😮 Temperance is irritated—this man is respectable and had she known this was about a murder, she would have taken him elsewhere. He buys a plum tart from the shopkeeper, and feeds a piece to Temperance. Now, lemme just say here, feeding someone something is either hella awkward or erotic AF. I am sure you can guess which one went down here, lol. Lazarus is too sexy to do anything awkwardly. So they move off to seedier underbelly of St. Giles, the establishment of Mother Heart’s- Ease, who I loathed on sight. “Behind her, dim firelight flickered, giving her the appearance of standing at the mouth of hell” (36). Lazarus asks her about the murder, which she describes in gory detail, and she produces a name of someone who MIGHT know something—Martha Swan. But it cost him a crown. The fact that Lazarus is legit blasé when Mother Heart’s-Ease recounts, in gory detail, how his mistress of 3 years was found murdered says a whole lot about this man. He’s cold as ice. He’s this guy.

When they leave, Temperance will not be dissuaded. She wants to know what is going on and right the hell now. She recounts a story of her own, of how M H-E sold a baby to her nine years ago (Mary Whitsun), even though her father and Winter told her it was a bad idea to sell her jewelry to purchase the 3-year old girl—it meant M H-E would continue to sell children, which she did. Temperance couldn’t afford the second child, a little boy, and that failure has eaten into her soul. She starts crying, though she usually tries to keep a firm hold on her emotions. Lazarus is holding her close, and he kisses her. But it’s weird:

“One moment she was crying in fury up at him and the next he’d swooped down and caught her mouth. Hard, with no mercy. She gasped at the shock. He ground his mouth against her soft lips. She felt his teeth, tasted his hot tongue, and that part of herself, that wretched, sinful, wrong, part broke free and went running. Reveling in his savagery. Rejoicing in his blunt sexuality.

Completely out of her control.

Until he raised his head and looked down at her. His lips were wet and slightly reddened, but otherwise he showed no sign of that devastating kiss.

He might’ve just relieved himself against a wall for all the emotion he displayed.” (44)

After this weird interaction (emphasis is mine), he admits he’s looking for information on the murder of his mistress.

The next chapter introduces another sister, Silence Makepeace Hollingbrook, who we will hear more about AND who gets her own story in book 3. Silence is married to Captain William Hollingbrook, who Silence seems deeply in love with. He’s a merchant ship captain who is in the West Indies, and she seems excited about him returning to London. Their conversation introduces several more siblings, including Concord, the eldest who runs the family brewery, sister Verity, and Asa (who we will learn more about in the subsequent books, until he gets his own as well, book 9). Verity, Temperance, and Silence—Lord, those poor girls got the worst of the names. Temperance and Silence seem very close, and she tells her sister about Lord Caire; Silence is concerned when she finds out he’s young and attractive and Temperance is blushing. “Temperance was a widow of eight and twenty, but sometimes she behaved with all the circumspection of a silly girl” (52). Which I legit don’t see, but if we mean she’s not stuff and boring, yeah, sure. Silence is worried about seduction; Temperance is like, have you met me? Silence is the family beauty, not her. Temperance doesn’t do anything carnal. Anyway, she gets Silence to promise not to tell her brothers, especially Winter, what she’s doing with Lord Caire.

Lazarus, on the other hand, wakes up screaming. Hm, there’s clearly something in his past that affects him now, which is probably why he’s hella weird. So he starts working on his translations, this one a poem by Catallus (this is something that St. John mentioned and I actually can see this being his kind of thing). His valet interrupts him, so he starts to think about Temperance while the valet is preparing him. “For one such as he—a man who could not feel emotion—her moods were irresistibly alluring” (55). Hm. That’s a new wrinkle! But he is fascinated by her emotion, which she tries to suppress—and wonders how she would look during an orgasm. “He’d never cared one way or another about a woman’s response. She was but the vessel for his own lust. But with Mrs. Dews, it was the woman herself who was the interesting part” (55).

We also learn something huge: Lazarus has real issues with people touching him, “to let another touch him was a ghastly physical trial.” He’s been that way for a very long time—in fact, the touch of another causes him literal pain, as well as fear and loathing. Interesting. Anyway, he’s off to his mother’s house in his new sedan chair, which I just cannot deal with. It sent my inner squirrel down a Google hole that left me so discomfited. The thought of having folks carry me—running through the London streets—is terrifying and embarrassing. I know, I know, but I just can’t imagine it. 🤷

The Dowager Caire will feature throughout the series. She’s gorgeous, first of all, and the silver hair comes from her. Lazarus, however, treats his mother with utter disdain and outright rudeness. They have real issues. He asks her why she asked him to come to her home, and she cannot explain why, so he rolls out, but she says something: “You don’t know. You don’t know what it was like” (60). Hm, add that to screaming nightmares, and it makes me think his late father might have been abusive, emotionally or physically, to them both. We shall see . . .

Regarding home, little Mary Hope isn’t doing well. As Temperance leave the wet nurse’s flat, she runs into Lazarus, who shamelessly admits he followed her and was waiting for her. She’s pissed and he totally DGAF. They start to bicker, which is their thing now—this time it’s over why she cares about people and he doesn’t. But he admits he feels no emotion, but she calls bullshit—why would he be searching endlessly for Marie’s killer if he didn’t feel? But she takes him to Hangman’s Alley, which appears to be well named, to look for the woman that M H-E mentioned, Martha Swan, and she’s glad she brought the gun. They are set upon by assailants and he tells her to run, but she fires her gun. Oh, and the cane is a sword cane (of course) and he has no qualms about using it. He’s beyond pissed that someone might threaten Temperance, but it’s not an honorable sentiment: “they hadn’t the right to hurt the little martyr. She was his plaything” (70). They’re beaten back, and he wonders why she didn’t run. “I couldn’t leave you,” she replies. No, he says, I ordered you to, and “she seemed completely unmoved by his ire . . . ‘Perhaps I don’t take orders from you, my lord’ ” (71). Boom. So my man is legit shocked, and “sputtered like an overwrought old woman.” He really wants her to recognize that she must obey him (good luck, lmao), and as he reaches for her, they realize that he actually was stabbed by one of the assailants. A woman comes out to find out what’s going on and tells them that Martha Swan was found dead earlier, killed in the same manner as Marie. Throughout all this, Temperance stays cool as a cucumber, which is bothering him.

“ ‘Someday you’ll break,’ he murmured. ‘And I pray to God I’m there when it happens.’

‘I haven’t any idea what you’re talking about.’

‘Yes, you do.’ ” (73)

Oh yeah, we all do . . .

He walks her back to the home, bleeding all the way, and tries to leave, but she’s not playing around. She grabbed his arm, which stopped him, because NO ONE touches him without his permission. But he lets her, and he doesn’t even know why. She drags him into the house, which is filled with kids and Winter. Oooh, Lawd. Winter meets Lazarus. You can feel testosterone and tension coming from Winter, and Lazarus is not stupid: “Lazarus attempted to look weak, wounded, and helpless, though he had a feeling it didn’t quite convince [Winter]” (76). Nope. Winter is a lot more clued in that anyone gives him credit. She’s all business, tending to his wound, and Lazarus lets her handle it all, because he knows she’s in a pickle by bringing him in, and is amused to see how she’ll get out of it. Yeah, don’t count Temperance out. Anyway, Temperance starts undressing him to look at the wound and Lazarus is surprisingly okay with it. She sends the kids out, and tries to send Winter out, but lol, Winter ain’t leaving his sister (widowed or not) with a half naked man, especially one that everyone thinks is a perv.

Let’s take a quick break here to appreciate Lazarus’ body. So, it’s only the hair on his head that’s silver. His body hair is black and, Constant Reader, y’all know how I feel about a hairy chest. That sent me on a Google journey for a shirtless Henry Cavill. The things I do for my readers. Actually, I’m lying; that was definitely in no way a hardship.

Back to our scene, where Winter is giving Lazarus a top notch stink eye, though he tries to play it off when his sister notices. Lazarus is looking smug, probably because he just saw her ogling his “mesmerizing chest.” But that changes once she touches him. “She had a strange feeling that he was keeping himself form shoving her away only by a great effort.” We know he is. In fact, when she looks into his eyes, she sees pain reflected there. She needs to sew it up, but now Temperance is shook:

“She’d sewed up innumerable small cuts, tended scrapes and bumps and fevers, but she’d never caused the kind of pain that marked Lord Caire’s eyes. She wasn’t even sure she could continue.

‘Just do it,’ Lord Caire murmured.

 She looked at him, startled. Had he somehow read her thoughts?’ ” (81)

It gets worse:

“ ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’

His wide mouth twitched, but it was hard to tell if it was a wince or a smile. ‘I assure you, Mrs. Dews, that whatever you do, it cannot make my pain worse.’

She stared at him and knew that the pain he spoke of had nothing to do with the wound in his shoulder.” (82)

I mean, we know, from his interaction with the valet, that people touching him causes him pain (allodynia?). He’s shuddering in revulsion as she’s touching him, but hey, that isn’t turning Temperance off. He’s too much hot man for her to not react. (Same, girl, same.) He finally escapes, leaving her with one irritated brother (who definitely knows who Lord Caire is; apparently she was the only person in London who hadn’t heard of him). Temperance comes clean to Winter about how she and Lazarus are acquainted. He says he won’t stop her, but she needs to be careful, because “Lord Caire is notorious for his sexual perversions.” (Stop teasing us . . . bring it on.) But if he thinks she’s in danger, he’s calling in big bro Concord, who sounds like someone nobody wants to mess around with.

But oh my, Lazarus wasn’t feeling just pain when she touched him. He’s incredibly aroused from her touch, which “had brought not only desperate mental pain, but also an erotic lust so intense that it lasted into the coldness of the night” (85). He thinks that she would be shocked and disgusted if she knew how aroused, but he has no real clue about my girl’s freak side, since she works so hard to suppress it.

Now we’re back to Silence, whose husband is home. She’s staring at him, thinking sexy thoughts, but apparently husband William wouldn’t be into that. She’s damned lucky he came home for the noookie the night before. He’s heading back to the ship to oversee the unloading. But two hours later, he comes running back, distraught—someone has stolen the ship’s cargo, and the owner thinks he participated in a setup. He’s ruined.

Temperance is with Mary Whitsun, who is her favorite at the home (she’s the one Temperance saved from Mother Heart’s-Ease, though she tries not to have favorites. Nell comes dashing in with a message, Lazarus is taking her to a musicale. Temperance is frantic; she has nothing to wear except the boring black dresses that are her usual. Nell’s gonna outfit her in some clothing from her days in the theatre—red silk. Oh yeah, tonight is gonna be LIT.

It's time, and they’re thinking it’s Lazarus at the door, but it’s Silence, telling them about the cargo theft. Lazarus is a little late, and as he nears the home, he sees a flash of red and black—hmmm, who wears those colors? Lazarus is actually feeling pretty rough—the wound is painful. Temperance is alluring, but distracted (from Silence’s news). He actually offers her his arm, which is something he would usually NEVER do, but for some reason, he wants her to touch him. And they’re off to Lady Beckinhall’s house, so she can meet the upper crust bigwigs who might help with the foundling home. And their banter in the carriage is hot.

“ ‘Are you apologizing to me, Lord Caire?’

‘And if I were?’ he asked softly. ‘Would you accept my obeisance?’

She lowered her eyelashes. ‘I have no need to have you at my feet.’

‘Don’t you?’ he asked lightly. ‘Then perhaps it is my needs that would find me there.’

He watched as a blush slowly stole up her neck.

‘Or perhaps,’ he whispered, ‘you might care to kneel before me?’ ” (103)

She wants to be offended, but she’s not. She’s excited. So he goes further, and shares a fantasy of her on her knees before him . . . and then they’re at the party. Convenient timing, indeed. And poor Temperance; she’s avoided men because this kind of thing is exactly what she craves. She’s worried about her dress, but he comforts her by saying he would have told her before she got there if it weren’t appropriate (oh, don’t make me like you, dude). As soon as they get in the door, they’re approached by a woman, who insults Temperance immediately, several times. He claps back at her and moves Temperance away. Oh yeah, it’s his mother. I guess the hair didn’t tip her off. Temperance rips her hem on purpose to get away, and moves to the retiring room, where she runs into an awesome red-haired lady who fixes it for her (Hero; you’ll find out more about her later). Finally, she’s out in the crowd, meeting folks to tell them about the home, and St. John comes up to Lazarus. He wants to know who she is and why she’s there—because he knows his friend and he knows that any woman with him is in danger. St. John tries guilt, and then when that doesn’t work, says he’ll take Temperance from Lazarus. And Lazarus loses his shit. Nobody is taking Temperance from him—she’s his. St. John steps back. (Btw, I’ve decided St. John is Jude Law.)

Oooh, we learn a little about why Lazarus seems to loathe his mother. Apparently he was a sickly baby and his parents abandoned him for five years, leaving him with a nurse. His dad seems like an asshole. (But, wait, there’s more . . . we will soon learn just how much.) Temperance talks about her family, including her husband, who worked as a brewer with her father (he’d planned to go to the clergy, which gives me the impression that the late husband did not fly a freak flag). For some reason, Lazarus wants to wound her, so he says nasty things about her husband. The music starts and she’s moved by it, and looks down to see that they’re holding hands. He takes her into another room, because he wants her to tell him how the music made her feel—he lives vicariously through others’ emotions, and hers are like a drug to him. Which is how they end up kissing. And it’s hot, until she grabs his shoulder, opening the wound. Damn, girl, you Hulked out while kissing this hot man and reinjured his shoulder???? And he’s hurting way worse than she realized, so she tells the coachman to take him home. He’s flushed and a little out of it. And she’s afraid it’s infected. Note, infection can kill you in 2021, even with the science and tools we have. You know it’s a death sentence in the 18^th century.

Although he has to feel like hell, he still feels the need to bait her. She tells him she never learned to dance (he basically sneers about her upbringing), but used to play the spinet—she had to sell it because the home needed money. He doesn’t believe that is why:

“ ‘No doubt you did,’ he murmured, ‘but I don’t think that’s why you sold your spinet. You enjoy punishing yourself.’

‘What a nasty thing to say.’ She turned her face away from him, feeling the heat in her cheeks. Prayed he couldn’t see her in the dim carriage.

‘Yet you don’t deny the accusation.’ ” (129)

She can’t. Because she is atoning for something. He mentions some silly “imagined sins,” but it’s nowhere near her “secret shame.” Something tips him off, because he says, “ . . . perhaps the sin was more grave than those I cite.” And she remembers a man . . . her husband? Maybe someone else? Lazarus is definitely perceptive. And man, does she want to just dump him outside his house, but nope. She takes him in and tends to him, dodging barbs from this delirious man and the sheer shock of his staff that she’s there and he is listening to her and doing what she says. You see, he has nobody he can send for, no relatives or friends. Finally, she asks—embarrassed—if there’s a lady friend they can summon:

“Lord Caire chuckled softly and opened his eyes. They were far too bright. ‘Small, when was the last time you saw a female other than a maidservant step foot in this house?’

‘Never.’ The valet’s eyes were fixed on his shoes.

‘You’re the first lady to cross my threshold in ten years, Mrs. Dews,’ Lord Caire drawled. ‘The last one was my mother, the day I ushered her from my home. On the whole, I think you ought to be flattered, don’t you?’ ” (135).

So it’s up to Temperance (since the doctor is a drunken fool). And the thing is, Lazarus is okay with it. He even explains more about his family, including a sister named Annelise who died when she was five and he was ten. Temperance stays there the entire night, basically keeping the man alive. It’s 8 a.m. when she returns to the home . . . to find her two older brothers there with Winter. Uh. Oh. Concord acts like an asshole, but I have to believe it’s because he worries about the family. Asa is an enigma (luckily, we find out more about him in the subsequent books, and he gets his own tale in book 9). But it’s a big deal that they’re there together, since Concord and Asa do not get along AT ALL. But they’re united in a desire to kick Lord Caire’s ass if he held her against her will. Winter should be teaching school, but he was up all night looking for her. Finally, Temperance has to admit to the brothers that the home is in danger of closing and the reason she’s been with Lazarus is to find a benefactor. Man, I want to like Concord, but he does things like this:

“ ‘Concord turned back to Winter. ‘And you allowed this?’

‘I did not like it,’ Winter replied shortly.

‘Yet you let our sister whore herself for this home.’

Temperance gasped, feeling as if her brother had slapped her across the face. Winter was on his feet, speaking in a grim voice to Concord and Asa was shouting, but all she heard was a muffled roar in her ears. Did Concord truly think her a whore? Was her greatest shame written on her face for all to see? Perhaps that was why Caire had made his suggestive comments. Perhaps he’d seen with one glance that she could be so easily corrupted.” (149)

Do. Not. Mess. With. Winter. I have deep feelings (mostly overwhelming adoration) for Winter. I will fight you.

Plus dick move, bro. Luckily, Asa sees she and Winter are both exhausted and it’s not the time to talk about it all; however, all three brothers agree that she cannot see Lazarus anymore. Lol, yeah right. Have you met Temperance? Nope. She’s gonna keep on being a badass.

Back to Silence and William (I. Do. Not. Like. Him.), who has not recovered his cargo. He knows who took it—Mickey O’Connor, also known as Charming Mickey, the most powerful dock thief in London. There’s no way they’re getting that cargo back. (Btw, I get an Aidan Turner vibe off Charming Mickey. Oh yeah, definitely Aidan Turner. Hot slash dangerous.) And Silence is consumed with guilt, because William was supposed to oversee the unloading, but he left early to get back to her.

Anyway, thanks to Temperance, Lazarus didn’t die from the infection. He refuses to let her see him until he appears 100%. So it takes a week. Lazarus hasn’t talked much about his freaky sex urges, but he does obtain gratification from hurting her emotionally. “During the day, he reviewed conversations they’d had, remembering the look of hurt in her gilded eyes when he’d said something particularly crass. The pain he’d caused her provoked a strange tenderness. He wanted to heal the hurt and then hurt her again to make it better” (155). (Okay, Laz, that ain’t cool. I mean, if both participants are into it, hell yeah. But what you’re doing now is emotional abuse, and I hope Temperance kicks you dead in your ass for it.) But what’s he do? Heads to the home, catching her with her hair down, which actually causes him to catch some feelings, and not just down south. There are some kids in the kitchen, and Lazarus starts to tell gory stories about his sword cane to a little boy (Joseph Tinbox, who we will see throughout the books), which thrills the kid. Lazarus notices that Temperance will NOT hold the baby Mary Hope; remember, Lazarus sees all. Winter comes in and Temperance is surprised to find that he doesn’t forbid them from going out together, but he clearly loathes Lazarus. They head back to the hellish lair of Mother Heart’s-Ease; though the horrible woman gives them no info, one of the patrons of the establishment provides a major bit if info—look for Tommy Pett at the most notorious brothel in St. Giles, Mrs. Whiteside’s.

Lord, this place. The dude at the door asks one question: “Boy or girl?” (LAWDHAMMERCY. You can catch something from just crossing the threshold at this joint.) Anyway, they speak to one of the whores, Pansy, who is a little person and appears to be a manager of the place, though she isn’t Mrs. Whiteside. Pansy has heard of Lazarus, and she’s always wanted him to come in. “We make a specialty of providing for the, ah, unusual requirements of a gentleman such as yourself” (170), Pansy says. Temperance really wants to know what kind of freak-a-leek he’s into, but Tommy—who is clearly one of the boys on the club’s menu—comes in, finds out who Lazarus is, and takes off running. Lazarus catches him easily (damn impressive for a man who was dying from an infection the week before), and asks him about Marie. Tommy was not only there, he was the one who found her. Lazarus also asks him about the jewelry that was missing (clearly good stuff that he’d bought for her), and Tommy retorts that he deserved to take the jewels, since Marie was his older half-sister. Lazarus asks if Tommy has any idea who would have killed his sister:

“The boy’s eyes widened. ‘She was tied to the bed, her arms stretched above her head, her legs spread apart, and her face was covered with a hood. I knew at once who had killed her.’

Lord Caire stared down at the boy. ‘Who?’

Tommy smiled, but somehow his lips twisted in a way that took away all his beauty. ‘Why, you, my lord. Isn’t that how you liked to enjoy my sister?’ ” (174)

BOOM! 💥

So now, Temperance knows his unusual sexual appetites. (To be honest, it wasn’t nearly as freaky as I had imagined. That being said, they didn’t have the internet back then, so they might not have known what real freak is. I mean, he expects her to be horrified and disgusted and I’m over here thinking: don’t threaten me with a good time.) Anyway . . .

Lazarus didn’t kill her. But clearly he’s not the only one who is into ropes and hoods so he asks Pansy about others who might be into the same thing. She says she can’t reveal any names, but he give her £50 (that’s about $12K USD in 2021), so she tells him to go look at the peepholes to the sex rooms. He takes Temperance, who says she doesn’t want to see it, but he says, quite logically, he cannot just leave her there in a brothel while he goes to look. Also, he wants to know how she reacts—see, he’s catching feelings for her and wants to know if his proclivities truly disgust her. So they look at the various sex acts, and he waits to see if she’s aroused by it—because he can feel her true nature. “She was so proper on the surface, but he knew, in a part of him beyond mind and spirit, that she had carnal depths that she struggled to hide. He wanted to explore those depths” (178). And yes, she was excited, but she runs from him, off into the streets.

WHICH IS IDIOTIC BECAUSE THEY ALREADY HAVE BEEN ATTACKED. And guess what? It happens again, but this time, they’re assisted by the Ghost of St. Giles (note: I love the Ghost; one of the best parts of the books). Lazarus and the Ghost fight together to stop their attackers. When they’re done, the Ghost bows and they can see the red feather in his hat—the Ghost is fancy!

Later, Temperance talks to Nell, who reveals that she used to have a lover who “liked a bit of adventure in the bedroom,” and basically tells Temperance that this can be totally natural and comfortable. Lazarus visits his only friend, St. John, bringing a huge bouquet of daisies for St. John’s invalid wife, and tells him that they interacted with the Ghost the previous night. Lazarus calls the Ghost overly flamboyant (“the scarlet feather . . . was too much”), but he’s appreciative for the help. St. John can only focus on the fact that Temperance was there with him, in danger. He doesn’t get Lazarus’ fascination with her. She is not the sort of woman he’s ever been interested in before. Lazarus reveals a LOT to his only friend here, and St. John is SHOOK: “ ‘There’s something about her,’ Caire said in a low voice. ‘She cares for everyone about her, yet neglects herself. I want to be the one who cares for her’ ” (193). Yeah, but he’ll ruin her, his friend says.

So, we are back to Silence, and I am not going into depth here about what happens, because I want you to read it—also, it factors into the third book—but Silence (who is 100% Makepeace because she does what she feels is right and damn the consequences) somehow gets an audience with Charming Mickey and says she will do anything to get William’s cargo back. Time for a deal with the devil.

Speaking of deals with the devil, Lazarus is taking Temperance to a ball so she may meet with potential benefactors. She’s particularly interested in a Sir Henry Easton, who she met at the musicale, and who appears promising to help the school. This time, however, Lazarus sent her a gown to wear, as well as underwear, shoes, and jeweled hairpins. And she’s gorgeous, evidenced by the fact that every man in the ball is checking her out. They speak about the voyeurism experience at the whorehouse, and he prods her about her secret; she denies she has one. He escorts her over to Sir Henry and . . . his mother confronts him. He’s done with dealing with his mom, and explains to his mother that he feels nothing for her, as she didn’t fight his father when her husband refused to call for a doctor when little sister Annelise was sick. And when he’s done with that, he looks around for Temperance and Sir Henry and they’re gone. Uh oh.

Yeah, Sir Henry is a POS. He doesn’t care about the home except as a means to get in Temperance’s panties. He doesn’t count on the fact that she runs a school with dozens of kids, spawning one of the funniest parts of the book: “Temperance had been disciplining males for a half score of years now. True, the males she dealt with her usually much shorter and less hairy than Sir Henry, but the principle, surely, was much the same” (218). She knows how to stop him, causing him to “scream like a little girl,” right in time for Lazarus to come in, punch the randy old goat, and pull her away. Lazarus lectures her and tells her to never go anywhere with a man who isn’t a relative. Um, what about him, she asks? “Me? I am far worse than Sir Henry. You ought never to be near me again. You should run right now.” Yeah, has he met her??? Instead, she kisses him.

Anyway, after the ball, Temperance gets home and . . . all three brothers are there, as well as Silence’s husband. She never came home. They all go to find her, and see her walking from Charming Mickey’s with her bodice unlaced and hair down, this appears to be a walk of shame. Silence swears he didn’t touch her, but nobody believes her. She’s utterly ruined. Her husband doesn’t believe her, and has pulled away from her. Mickey knew this was going to happen—he said that if her husband actually loved her, he would believe her. And she’s shaken to her foundation, because it’s clear William does not believe her.

Temperance shows up at Lazarus’ house, clearly bereft. She actually calls him by name for the first time ever. She tells him about Silence, and he feels something he’s never felt—empathy. He wants to hold her and comfort her, which he does, until they both fall asleep. Yeah, we know what’s going to happen so head down to the sex-and-spoilers for the details, if you’re interested in that. Otherwise, we will move to later, when they wake up together. Lazarus had never woken up in bed with a woman before, and he’s shocked to find he likes it. He’s ready to do it again, but . . . she wakes up and freaks TF out, lol. She’s trying to find her clothing to get dressed and haul ass out of there (you’re lying if you don’t admit you’ve done this at least ONCE in your life), despairing at her ruined garment—Lazarus was in a rush and didn’t feel like unlacing her. She’s got to get home, because she doesn’t want her brothers to think they’re lovers (uh, honey, no need to shut the barn door now; that cow is long gone).

Oh, now Temperance is doing a legit walk of shame (well, ride of shame because he sent her home in his carriage). She was happy she’d made love with Lazarus. Yet, she’s beating herself up all to hell. When he sees her that night, she’s trying to control herself, but she can’t do anything but remember what it’s like to be with him. Tonight is a little different; he’s got St. John with him as they go on their rounds. While he’s interrogating one of Marie’s lovers, Temperance and St. John talk. St. John is afraid that she will hurt Lazarus, which is astonishing. The man has no feelings, right? They drop St. John back off and she tries to talk to Lazarus about love. He knows she wants him to say the words, but he can’t. So he makes love to her in the carriage. Now, seriously, the logistics of this really floor me. I saw a tweet recently that drove this home—these folks have to end up with pulled muscles and bruises all over their bodies. Those carriages are not large, so banging would involve some Cirque du Soleil contortions.

Anyway, they both enjoy themselves, but Temperance puts a wall up between them as soon as they’re done, leaving him frustrated in a different kind of way. And holy crap, his mother is at his house waiting for him; she’s been there so long she’s fallen asleep. She tells him some things he’s not ready to hear.

Lazarus is thinking about the fact that he’s been intimate with Temperance without the ropes and hood. For the first time ever, he’s achieved some type of normalcy with a woman. And he craves just being with her, which is why he ends up at the home again. There’s been a similar murder of a prostitute, which they are blaming on the Ghost of St. Giles (don’t do my Ghost like that; get that name out of your mouth). They talk very seriously about their pasts, which turns into another sexual encounter, and the most amusing line I’ve ever read in a book, I think (more about that in the s-and-s, below).

The next morning, she’s lying in her bed, wondering why she is doing these things, risking pregnancy and ruin and “her very soul,” when she hears thumping from Winter’s room next door. Winter is injured, but says it’s from a fall. This is very mysterious, because Winter is as reliable as they come and this does not seem to be in his nature. Silence comes to help, as William has left on another journey, and sees a slash on Winter’s back, such as a knife or sword would make—Winter has got some major secrets. Oh, and baby Mary Hope has a fever.

Temperance WALKS to Lazarus’ house. Clearly something is wrong, but she grabs him and kisses him. She says she doesn’t want to think and she needs him to help her not think. “His body reacted as if trained to service her and her alone” and they go tearing to his bedroom. And something is very different, because she wants to do it his way, with bindings and blindfolds. And as much as they enjoy it, he’s troubled, because he knows she’s troubled. First of all, he felt something was missing—for the first time, he realized he wanted to see her eyes while they made love, and even more, he wanted her to see him. But he could also tell that something has happened to shake her. This leads to a major fight between them. She reveals her greatest shame. (Ha, did you think I was going to tell you? READ. THE. BOOK.) But worse, he is so hurt because he believes that she gave herself to him to punish herself. He’s devastated: “Am I anything to you but a punishment?” (315). And as much as she hates to admit it, he’s right. He leaves her alone, telling the coachman to take her home. But instead, she goes to St. John’s because she has a plan for the home (always thinking about the home). They’re going to have an open house to entice benefactors.

Ah, Constant Reader, you know what time it is. We are verging into spoilers now. So, it’s up to you to get the book and learn what happened! But it’s good, and sets you up for the other books in the series, which I also love and have reread dozens of times, as I mentioned above. I know, I’m a brat, but I refuse to tell you everything. You’ll love the book, so grab it!

 

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Now, let’s head to the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section. Don’t read if you’re easily offended. Don’t read if you don’t want it spoiled. I warned you.

 

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Reminder, don’t continue if you don’t want to hear about sex and/or you don’t want to hear about the ending. Second reminder: these are primarily HEAs, which means H (Hero) and h (heroine) are getting together before the last page.

Sex

So, Temperance is a perfectly normal woman who has perfectly normal urges, but she’s carrying something that makes her suppress them. “She’d always been particularly vulnerable to physical lust, had to guard against it every day of her life to make sure others didn’t know how it controlled her” (238). This is a shame, because it just seems like normal sexual urges to me, but she feels she’s some sort of monster. But, for the first time in years, she isn’t worried about that. So the first full sex scene happens when she heads to his house after they’ve recovered a traumatized Silence.

Points to Lazarus for ripping her stays off. That HAD to be difficult. (I once had to cut off a corset. Don’t ask.) She wants him naked but he can’t—the pain. It hurts if she touches his skin; however, it doesn’t hurt him to touch her. She still rubs her foot against his bare leg, which does hurt him—she doesn’t care. She’s not a virgin, of course, but clearly, Temperance’s marriage wasn’t hot and heavy, because anything beyond traditional missionary is a surprise to her. Lazarus confesses that this is the first time he’s ever made love to a woman; he’s had lots of sex, of course, but this is different. And Temperance is all in her head, and yeah, I can see why. I mean, she really doesn’t know him, and here she is, stark naked while he’s still almost fully dressed on top of her. She’s actually afraid of her orgasm, of letting herself go.

EH’s scenes are descriptive, but it’s the emotion that comes through that makes them so amazing. These are visceral experiences, but there is more than just physical.

Second time is in the carriage. She teases him since she’s on top and in control. This is more descriptive and erotic. And she takes her pleasure, putting her mouth on his neck, though we know that causes him pain. Hell, she causes actual pain when she bites him. (Dear men, biting is a compliment. Just remember that.) It’s nice to see Temperance being in control of the situation and enjoying herself, because she clearly has some issues with giving herself up to sex: “She looked down at him, this aristocrat, this lord, begging her to bring him to pleasure, and decided she would take pity” (268). And she feels deeply for him, but she puts that protective grate down as soon as they’re done.

Their third encounter is at her house, beginning when she performs oral sex on him. He’s a gentleman, and warns her, but she’s kinda busy and cannot reply (though she’s down with it, no pun intended), giving us the funniest line of any romance book I’ve ever read (emphasis mine):

“He was gasping now, his cheeks furrowed, his face flushed.

‘Do you want it?’ he whispered. ‘Stop now if you can’t take it.’

She couldn’t talk—her mouth was full of his cock—’ ” (293)

I CRACKED UP when I read that. It didn’t ruin the mood, but man, it was HILARIOUS. Anyway, kudos to him for stamina, because he’s back for more in just a page or two.

There are two more scenes in the book, both which include bondage. Temperance initiates them both. She wants to be tied up, and it’s detailed and very interesting.

The last one, she ties him up so she can teach him to love her touch. And it’s transformative for both of them. “For the first time in her life, she welcomed her own arousal” (370). But things are different now that they understand their love.

Some spoiler-y things

👻 The Ghost of St. Giles helps a lot and is seen several times. The Ghost holds M H-E’s guards at swordpoint to assist Lazarus. Later, the Ghost assists Lazarus, St. John, and Winter at the home.

Lazarus and Temperance finally come clean with each other about their feelings. Lazarus is able to admit he has feelings and a deep love for Temperance. He and Winter can even shake hands and be civil.

Lady Caire redeems herself a lot, to her son and to me, lol. She ends up being a favorite of mine in the series. She and Hero together are a lot of fun.

The Epilogue: Y’all know I love an epilogue. Elizabeth Hoyt’s epilogues are almost prologues to subsequent books. This one is very important, as a lonely Silence is living at her flat—William went back to sea, leaving the rift gaping between them. Someone leaves a black-haired infant at her door, and she names her Mary Darling.

The next books

The next book is a treat, and is about Lady Hero Batten. We meet her brother, the Duke of Wakefield, (who was mentioned in this book—he hates gin) and sister. They both feature heavily throughout the series. I liked the second book even better than the first! You must read the entire series (as well as the extras, which I will also review).