Heath's In Bed with the Devil (Scoundrels of St. James: 1)
In Bed with the Devil
Scoundrels of St. James, Book 1
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (good friends; gambling hell is an automatic star; tortured hero; perfect for each other but they don’t realize it; there’s a mystery)
Heat rating: 🔥🔥🔥 (for more, see the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section, of course)
Oh, so, it’s time for Lorraine Heath. I really love her books. They always bring in a character twist that’s delightfully creative. In this book, Lucian Langdon, the Earl of Claybourne, might not actually be the earl. Oh, and he may also have killed his uncle.
Let’s begin.
So Lucian really doesn’t know who he is. He grew up as Luke*, a London street urchin, a thief, and murderer. His (purported) parents were killed, but he doesn’t remember the murder. He ended up on the street, until he was arrested and would have been hanged at 14, but fate intervened. See, the father of the man he killed wanted to meet him to ask why he did it—but as soon as the man saw him, he began to believe that Lucian was his grandson. It’s the distinctive pewter grey/silver eyes.
* Warning, LH switches between Lucian and Luke, and so will I. Usually, it’s Luke when he’s with his childhood buddies, and Lucian when he’s with society, but I know I will make a mistake, so just understand that they’re the same person. Hell, I may even throw a “Claybourne” in there, too.
Now, does Lucian really think he’s the man’s grandson? Nope. But he didn’t want to dance at the end of a rope, so he went along with it. The thing is, he can’t prove he’s NOT the man’s grandson either. Anyway, Lucian leaves the streets for the aristocracy, and upon the old Earl’s demise, he is Earl of Claybourne. Yet, he writes in his journal: “But beneath the surface . . . I remained a scoundrel at heart” (page 2).
Now isn’t that an awesome start to a book? It definitely got its hooks in me with that beginning. We move on to Lady Catherine Mabry, who saw Lucian, known as the “Devil Earl,” five years previously when he crashed a party after his ascension to the title. He DGAF and he wants them all to know it—he KNOWS they don’t accept him. But he couldn’t care less. He comes to the party to stare them all down, and then he leaves. The posh ton avert their eyes and pretend he doesn’t exist, except for Lady Catherine. She stares right back at him until he caves and looks away. (He actually pays a servant to sneak outside and hide in the bushes with him to identify who she was.) For five years, Catherine has remembered seeing Lucian that night, though he’s never showed up in public again. Catherine is a little obsessed, actually. She’s invited him to every ball or dinner she’s given (he’s totally ignored her). She knows he’s a bad man, but he intrigues her. Besides the invites, she’s never had a reason to really interact with him. Until now . . .
Lucian might be an earl, but he’s still very close to the friends of his youth, the friends of the street. So we soon meet Jack Dodger (who owns a gaming hell—y’all know that MAR loses her crap over any stories involving a gaming hell). Jack will be the focus of the second book, Between the Devil and Desire. We also meet Frannie Darling, who grew up with Lucian and Jack, and now works as Jack’s bookkeeper. Lucian loves Frannie, and has been trying to get the nerve to propose for the last year. (FYI, Frannie’s story is the third book, Surrender to the Devil, but if you don’t want spoilers, avoid reading about that book until you’ve finished this one.) So, here we are at Dodger’s Drawing Room, the gaming hell, and instead of proposing, Lucian is playing cards (and winning, because he is a master at reading people). He gives his winnings to Frannie, who is working toward building an orphanage, and . . . does not propose. In fact, Jack bet him that he wouldn’t propose, so he owes him £5. Actually, Jack’s been winning that money off him for the last year, because Lucian just cannot bring himself to propose, though he thinks it’s what he wants.
Lucian heads home, thinking about that ball he crashed right after his grandfather died. Lo and behold, he also remembers Catherine boldly returning his gaze. Lo and behold, x2, when he gets home, guess who is there? It’s Lady Catherine, needing to talk to him: “it was of paramount importance—a matter of life and death were her precise words” (18). Now that is really interesting.
He surprises her by knowing who she is. And he’s immediately in horndog mode: “Beneath that cloak, she’d dressed to seduce and for reasons he couldn’t fathom, he was suddenly very much in the mood for seduction” (18). Lucian, whoo boy, we know you’re hot AF, as well as mysterious, but are you really thinking this woman came here just to get her freak on? Yeah, he tells her he knows why she’s there, which confuses the hell outta her. He thinks she’s trying to set him up, that she’s got witnesses outside the windows to “catch” them in flagrante delicto so he will have to marry her. And he breaks into this, I dunno, soliloquy that has got to have her hella perplexed (I mean, we are all confused as well):
“But even if he witnesses my removing your clothing, even if he sees you welcoming me with open arms and crying out in ecstasy, I will not marry you,” he whispered.
He heard her breath catch.
“I will not restore your reputation once tarnished.” He brushed his lips over hers. “If you get with child, I will not give you respectability. The price you pay for waltzing with the devil is residing in hell.” (21)
Lucian, you are one dramatic mofo! There’s no call for all that. That being said, when he kisses her, she doesn’t pull away. And he’s pretty blown himself, because the kiss was just to intimidate her, but he’s catching some feelings from it. It’s a good kiss, and he is ready to throw any caution to the wind and take her right there in the library, when she tells him why she’s really there: she’s not there to do the horizontal mambo . . . she wants him to kill someone for her.
Okay, so he’s shocked (I mean, we are, too), but man, Catherine is also shook because this dude really is deliciously dangerous. I get a Jai Courtney vibe off him. But perfect lady, Lady Catherine, is not unaffected by the kiss, which, if she’s going to be honest about, she’s always wanted from him. Hell, she’s dreamed of it. “With his mouth playing over hers, he’d succeeded in making her body thrum madly and burn with desire as it never had. She’d been halfway tempted to follow where he was leading, but more was at stake than satisfying her own yearnings” (24). She’s having a serious emotional response to that kiss, and she really wants to get close to him again. But, clearly, there’s something major going on if SHE IS TRYING TO HIRE A HITMAN! Let’s continue . . .
So, here’s the deal. She won’t tell him who until he agrees to do it, and she won’t ever tell him why. Now, of course, he’s wary. Because, um, yeah. I could stick around here for a bit, because the dialogue is so much fun, but I also want you to read the book, so suffice to say, he refuses and she leaves empty handed (well, that kiss, though). But the important bit is that she asked him if he killed his uncle and he said he did not.
Lucian immediately starts drinking. Holy hell, he’s finishing the third bottle, irritated AF that Catherine has gotten under his skin. Oh, yeah, he received alllllll her invitations. He remembers her answering look at the ball. And he’s angry that she brought memories up. See, Lucian did kill someone, the son of the man who believed himself to be his grandfather, because the son did something to . . . Frannie, of course. And he’s always loved Frannie. The thing is, when the old Earl asked him why Lucian killed his son, Lucian told the truth, and “in the end, it was the truth that convinced the old man that [he] was redeemable” (34). The thing is, had Lucian known why Catherine came to him with this shocking request, he probably would have acquiesced. Because in the next chapter, we learn the reason she wants someone killed. Her best friend, Winnie, is married to the Duke of Avendale, who is clearly an abuser and possibly a double murderer. His two previous wives are dead: “They say his first wife was clumsy and fell down the stairs. And his second wife slipped in the bedchamber and banged her head so hard on the floor that it killed her” (42). He has a vicious temper and beats Winnie. Avendale is an asshole and now I wanna hire someone to bump off dude. F*** that dude. I HATE HIM.
Back to Lucian (dude, seriously, Avendale has to go. Think about it, k?). He’s convinced Frannie to ride in his fancy carriage with him—they’re going to tour the orphans’ home that’s being constructed. And he finally grows a pair and proposes. He just blurts it out, instead of reciting Shakespeare’s twenty-ninth sonnet as he’d planned, and . . . she says no.
He begs and cajoles, but she really doesn’t want to marry him. She doesn’t want to be part of the aristocracy. She doesn’t even know what her real name is. This is not what she wants. She says it will destroy her. She loves him, but she cannot marry him. (Damn, I like her. I legit did not want to, because she’s in the way of our HEA, but Frannie is good people.)
So he’s back in his library, drinking away his misery, when he finds the clasp to Catherine’s pelisse, which she must have dropped when she visited him. And he thinks about her. The thing is, he wasn’t surprised that she showed up. “He’d been surprised only that it had taken her so long to make an appearance. That night at the ball he’d felt an immediate attraction, the intensity greater than any he’d experienced before or since” (56). And then, holy crap, he has an earth-shattering thought—Catherine can help him get Frannie. WHAT?
Catherine has given up on Lucian assisting her, and is sending a letter to her world-traveling brother. See, her father has been incapacitated by a stroke, and Catherine is trying to keep everything together at home. In addition, she’s got to do something before Avendale kills Winnie and moves on to wife #4. I mean, what else can Catherine do? Kill him herself? “But oh, dear Lord, where would she find the strength? And how would she do it? A pistol? A knife? Poison?” (59).
Just then, fate intervenes again (oh, fate, you’re busy), and she receives a mysterious summons from -C. Could it be . . . Claybourne? And Catherine is back to calling on the Almighty: “Oh, dear Lord, she’d called at the devil’s door and now he was calling at hers. This did not bode well, this did not bode well at all” (60). Yeah, my girl, that’s an understatement. WHAT would make him send her a missive that says “We need to meet”? NEED.
But there’s no way she’s not showing up—I mean, maybe he needs to kiss her—so at midnight, she’s waiting in the garden. Okay, so what’s the deal? His next words gut her, though: he will help her kill someone if she will help him. He tells her that there’s a woman he wants to marry (Frannie), but she has qualms about marrying him.
Now, this hurts. Catherine has been fantasizing about this guy for the last five years. He kissed her, for God’s sake, and now he comes to her asking her to help him get another woman. Sigh. Oh, she asks, is this woman afraid to marry him because of all the wicked things he does? “His mocking smile was all the more visible in the darkness. ‘The wicked things I do, Lady Catherine, are the very reason you’re drawn to me’ ” (65). She denies it, but we ain’t stupid. Anyway, he wants to give Frannie confidence enough to marry him, and wants Catherine to tutor her. Well . . . she’s not sure he’s the best (hit)man for the job 🥁, since he told her he hasn’t killed anyone. Nah, girl, he says, I said I didn’t kill my uncle (I’m paraphrasing). And because Catherine is not stupid, she puts everything together in a second—he doesn’t believe he’s actually the legit earl. So they agree on a bargain. Funny part—she asks if he wants them to have papers drawn up . . . um, to legitimize a murder plot? Maybe she isn’t as smart as I thought. Note, he still doesn’t know who she wants him to kill. See, he said he’d do his part ONCE he’s certain she can teach Fannie and imbue her with enough confidence to become the Countess of Claybourne.
Next Lucian goes to see another friend from childhood, and give me a second because he’s one of my favorites in the series—James Swindler. Jim is now a Scotland Yard inspector (y’all know MAR loves cops, so another automatic star). He wants Jim to find out what Catherine is up to—Lucian might have the fancy title and wealth, but he’s still a street kid at heart, and knows that it’s in his best interest if he learns her motivation.
So, it’s showtime. Lucian took her to Dodger’s, to attempt to win Frannie over. Frannie is not convinced, and keeps trying to reason with him. Catherine is watching this play out while standing with old Jack Dodger himself, and she’s got real concerns. No matter WHAT Lucian thinks, society is never going to accept a countess who (1) worked (2) in a gaming hell. Nevertheless, Catherine will train her, because she has got to save Winnie. Jack is messing with her, because he thinks she’s a fancy society piece that he can scandalize and intimidate, but it’s not working as planned. He actually tells her he might have work for her in the hell:
“I believe you would fulfill a fantasy for my customers who are not of the nobility that my present girls can’t. I suspect many a gent fantasizes about bedding a woman of your…ilk.”
“And what of a lady’s fantasies? Are you well equipped to see to those?”
He seemed taken aback. Good. She didn’t much like him. (76)
Boom.
Anyway, we are all sick of Lucian and Frannie arguing, so Catherine finally yells at them to knock it TF off. Lucian is taken aback that she feels she can speak to him like this, but she is NOT afraid of him and never has been. She tells him he cannot bully Frannie into doing this. But she will teach her, so the other two need to skedaddle so she can begin. Once they’re gone, Catherine asks Frannie why she’s really against marrying Lucian. Oh, snap, this has gotta be good.
Catherine has impressed Jack Dodger, which isn’t easy to do. Whatevs, Lucian says, she’s a pain in the ass. Jack mentions that she’s beautiful and Lucian LIES and says he hasn’t noticed. Oh, okay. Jack is wondering, as a result of their convo, if Catherine isn’t a virgin. Now that got Lucian paying attention—why is that? Jack recounts what she said to him when he offered a position, but Lucian cannot believe it—women are different, he says, they don’t think about men and definitely do not fantasize about them. They think about “gowns and tea and needlework.” Uh, even Jack knows that’s stupid and says, “maybe I’ll ask Catherine.” Lucian does NOT like his familiar tone and tells him to stay way from her.
“You ordered me to stay away from Frannie, and I have done so. I flirt with her not at all. You can have only one woman, Luke, and you have claimed Frannie. I will do with Catherine as I please.”
Luke came to his feet with such force that his whiskey sloshed over the sides of his glass as he towered over Jack. “You will leave her be.”
He didn’t like the way Jack was studying him, with a speculative gleam in his eye. Nor did he particularly like the fury emanating from him at the thought of Jack giving Catherine any attention at all. What was the matter with him? What did he care who gave her attention? But just the thought of her with someone else set his blood to boiling. (80)
Now ain’t that interesting?
Clearly, they’re all in love with Frannie, which has got to be overwhelming and disturbing to her. To me, it seems to be “comfortable” love—she’s the girl they’ve all grown up with.
We don’t hear more about what happened with Catherine and Frannie, but while escorting her home in his carriage, Lucian warns Catherine to be wary of Jack. She’s not interested in him, she says. Well, he’s good looking, Lucian points out. And Catherine has to explain some things to him: looks 👏 aren’t 👏 everything 👏, okay? Guys can be so clueless about that. But they end up talking about his past with Feagan, which leads to more about his “grandfather.” He explains more about the fact that he killed the Langdon heir. BTW, she knows the heir’s son, Marcus, who is accepted in the ton, as everyone seems to be just waiting for him to come on the scene and dethrone Lucian. He’s actually sharing a lot with her, and she thinks it’s because he doesn’t want her to like him, which could be. “I don’t know why I tell you these things. Perhaps because only a soul as dark as mine could ask of me what you have” (85). She refutes that but he says that even though he does the deed, he does it at her bidding (which is why you’ll go to jail if you hire a hitman, even if you don’t actually do the killing—pro tip). She thinks she can take it.
Oh, btw, remember when I said she asked Frannie explicitly why she doesn’t want to marry her friend Luke? Short version: it would be a supremely unequal relationship, which is not something she is comfortable with (remember, she’s an accountant). She feels like she owes him everything, and he owes her nothing.
Lucian escorts Catherine home, but he has a question for her—did the person she wants to kill sexually assault her, because if he did, Lucian will kill him, no questions asked, and consider the debt paid in full. Oh, she could lie, but she’s too good of a person. Also, if she did, she’d probably never see Lucian again, and she’s not quite ready for that.
Back to Frannie, it appears that she and Feagan’s lads are all in business together. She lives in apartments behind the hell. Jack lives there as well, and she goes to see him, which gets her thinking about their past. Jack is called the Dodger because he is so elusive. He never got caught—except for one time when he tried to help Luke. Anyway, Jack and Frannie are very close, definitely like close siblings, and he asks her why she hasn’t told Lucian “the truth . . . instead of making up all those silly excuses” (92). She doesn’t want to hurt him, but she really just doesn not want to marry him and she definitely does not want to be a countess. He’s basically her brother. Frannie also says something that makes total sense to me, but Jack doesn’t understand it (because . . . men): “ . . . I don’t think he’d really be happy with me. Sometimes having the dream makes you more content than having the reality” (92). But Jack does understand a few things, particularly that Lucian likes Catherine. He knows this because of Lucian’s almost violent response to Jack saying he might try to make a play for her (because . . . men).
Luke’s gets home and immediately goes for the whiskey; but ends up dropping everything when Jim speaks to him from inside the room. Now, that’s unlike him. Luke grew up on the streets—he’s always aware of his surroundings. Yet, Jim was able to get the jump on him. He’s hella distracted by one lovely blond lady. Jim’s there to give a report on his research on her, and it’s a big a fat goose egg.
Catherine is visiting with Winnie, and they have tea with Lady Charlotte, who informs them that Marcus Langdon is trying to reclaim the title. It’s hard for Catherine to keep her mouth shut, especially since Lady Charlotte (who I LOATHE—you’ll hate her more in Book 3) and Winnie know jack all about who Claybourne really is. When she’s alone with Winnie, she tries to tell her friend that she doesn’t think Claybourne is that bad. Oh, and when they get back to Winnie’s, her horrible husband is there. This dude is a sociopath and an all around asshole. He tries to intimidate Catherine, but she ain’t taking his crap. She ain’t about the interrogation that seems to be SOP in his husbandly book. He comes right out and tells Catherine she needs a man to put her in her place and he thinks she’s a bad influence on Winnie. I hope something really bad happens to his guy—he’s one of the worst romance novel villains that I’ve encountered.
For the first time, Luke’s losing at the tables. He cannot concentrate. He wants to know what Catherine and Frannie are doing during their sessions. Oh, and it finally hit him that Catherine is a really attractive woman, possibly the most attractive woman he’s ever encountered (and that includes Frannie). When they’re heading home from Dodger’s, Catherine brings up to him the info she learned about his cousin. Luke’s caught off guard, but plays it off. Also, she’s getting to him in different ways—she’s a lady, and he’s never been a fan of ladies, but he also enjoys talking and being with her. He wants to ask her more about herself, but at that moment, the carriage is set upon by six ruffians. Luke tells her to stay in the carriage, and he and his driver and footman fight back, but she tries to help, and is injured in the process. The ruffians roll out when they discover they’ve hurt a lady, Luke rushes her to his home. He’s terrified (she has a deep slash to the palm of her hand) and calls for the doctor. Catherine points out that clearly someone is trying to kill him, but why? Luke is upset because he is legit catching feelings for her. As they wait for the doctor, he cuts off her glove to have a look at the wound. It’s not as bad as he imagined, which leads to this little convo:
“If you ever put yourself in harm’s way like that again, I’ll put you over my knee.”
“And do what?” she asked indignantly.
He lifted his gaze to hers, and she saw the worry in his eyes, before he smiled. “Kiss your bare bottom.” (123)
Hey, my dude, don’t threaten me with a good time, k?
Anyway, enter the doctor, who is, of course, one of Feagan’s lads, Dr. William Graves, who is described as looking like an angel, blond and blue eyed. He gets a novella (5th work in the series), but you see him throughout the books. Whenever he’s mentioned, I get Cody Fern vibes. He checks her out, and asks her something strange—is she one of Luke’s rescued lambs? Anyway, he’s got to stitch that slash and it’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt bad. Lucian tells her to think about something else, but when Graves starts sewing, she flinches and cries out, so Lucian kisses her. “ . . . she was suddenly only vaguely aware of something happening with her palm and incredibly aware of the taste, feel, and tangy scent of Claybourne” (126). Holy shit, that had to be some kiss! But it was definitely not one sided, because Graves has to get Lucian’s attention as well to tell him he’s finished stitching, “ ‘Not sure I’ve ever seen quite so inventive a distraction,’ the doctor said” (128). Same, dude, same.
As Lucian takes her home, she asks about the “rescued lambs,” and he explains that he helps unmarried mothers, usually servants who have become pregnant by the lord of the manor (not him, FYI), by sending them to his estates to work and have their babies in safety.
Anyway, it’s morning before he is able to return home, but he takes a detour, to another of his properties, where his cousin Marcus and his mother live. OMG, his mother is a beast. She gives Avendale a run for his money for most odious character. Yeah, so someone tried to kill me tonight, Lucian says, any idea who? I hope Marcus isn’t a gambler, because he straight up looked at his mother. My man cannot bluff. When Lucian leaves, Marcus immediately says, did you really pay to have him killed? She has zero shame: “It seemed the most efficient way to achieve my ends” (137). This lady is Cruella de Vil-level ice cold.
Catherine is ready for the night’s lesson, but she gets a message from Lucian canceling. And her mind goes haywire—crap, maybe he was wounded in the fight!? So she heads to his house, dismissing her coachman after she gets there, and pushes her way into his bedroom . . . to find him lying in bed stark naked. She learns that he has excruciating headaches, so she starts to massage his temples, as she’s done for her infirm father. He tries to explain to her that she shouldn’t be there, and she throws out something that really gets him going: “No one knows I’m here. I took precautions and was very careful. Even the man who’s been following me wasn’t about” (143). Holy crap, she made Jim? But she stays there all night, and they fall asleep. Note, Lucian rarely sleeps more than a few hours. So the fact that he fell asleep with her is significant. Oh, and he wakes up with her draped over him.
Now, Lucian has a lot to ponder. Because, my dude has caught some serious feelings for Catherine and he’s confused. “Because a man couldn’t love two women. And his heart was Frannie’s. It had always belonged to her” (151). Yeah, my brother, tell yourself that.
He’s definitely trying to convince himself that he doesn’t have serious feelings, then starts thinking about how he’d like to rub her all over. Hell, rub her inside. And he groans and she’s all, “how’s your head?” like it’s not any kind of big deal that they’re in his bed. She’s nonchalant. He’s trying to disguise a rampant cockstand (which is my FAVORITE romance novel word, btw). It’s all good.
Oh, we do hear some more about her brother, Sterling, who is still nowhere to be seen. The brother doesn’t know that the father is dying—they had a major fight a while back and Sterling rolled out.
Finally, she asks Lucian about his scars and it occurs to her where she is, and she realizes she really shouldn’t be alone in a man’s bedchamber. Lucian realizes he’s never had a woman in his bed without having sex with her. But it was okay. “He loved Frannie, he’d always loved Frannie. But of late, it seemed he was only capable of thinking of Catherine” (155).
Catherine is mortified that she was in his room with him all night, but she’s also disappointed that he didn’t try to take advantage of her (okay, I can see that, my girl, but dude had hell’s migraine and then you guys were talking about deep subjects, so it kinda makes sense that y’all didn’t immediately turn to boning). He is going to take her home, but his stomach starts growling (aw), so he asks if it is okay if they eat breakfast first. Not only that, he cooks for her (omelette to share). And they talk about him growing up in the rookery. He also explains something that you’ll see throughout the series—these children of the streets don’t realize what they’re doing is criminal. It’s taught to them as if it were a game. But the punishment they get is definitely real punishment. She also notices something—the convos always go back to Frannie. Sad face emoji.
Later, Luke meets up with Jim Swindler to tell him he’s been made. Nope, not me, Jim says (and I believe him because he’s ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS). That gets Luke thinking; what if someone else is following her and they’re the reason he’s being attacked? Luke wants to make sure. He’ll get Jim and the lads at Dodger’s and see if Catherine recognizes Jim.
So that night, when Frannie and Catherine are having their lessons, Frannie mentions something that startles Catherine. “Do you know that Luke has never kissed me?” she throws out. Now that hits Catherine hard—Luke has kissed her THREE times (crap, can Frannie tell? she wonders). Not sure why Frannie threw that info out. Anyway, Frannie is in on the plan for Catherine to see Jim, so she’s supposed to find a way to get them both to the card game. Frannie makes it sound like they’re going to swindle (no pun intended) the lads at their own game, and they join the cards. The lads seem taken with Catherine, which pricks Luke’s jealousy. Short version, she pretends like she doesn’t know how to play, but she does, and whips them good. And Luke is delighted. You got it bad, milord.
So, now the plan is that they’re going to have a fancy dinner at Luke’s house, so Frannie can practice being a hostess. Catherine asks if they can invited Dr. Graves and Luke is jealous, haha. I mean, he should be, because Bill sounds heavenly, but Catherine isn’t thinking that way. But it makes sense to have two “couples” at dinner.
The next day, Catherine is at Winnie’s to address invites for the ball, and Winnie wants to know what happened to Catherine’s hand. Well, Catherine wants to know what happened to Winnie’s chin. She says she ran into a door. Miss me with that bullshit, Catherine says, what did that abusive POS do this time? Oh, smacked Winnie because she didn’t want to have sex with him. I seriously hate that guy. I hope bad bad bad things happen to him. I hope it hurts.
As mentioned above, Lucian got it bad, and it ain’t good. “It was madness. The amount of time he spent obsessing about Catherine” (193). When she gets to his house that night, he is waiting at the gate. He doesn’t even know if Bill and Frannie are there, because he’s been more concerned about Catherine getting there safely. But they’re there, and Catherine lights up when she sees Bill, who is, well, a knight with a shining scalpel (or, in this case, sutures). Lucian is jealous AF. But Frannie has a plan—she wants Catherine and Lucian to pretend they’re married, and Frannie can observe. Huh? Okay, short version, Lucian acts like an utter ass and Catherine runs out crying. It’s been a helluva day and she didn’t need that.
He finds her in the library, and she vents to him. Well, she tries to, but he ends up kissing her. He knows what the problem is. He was pissed she was smiling at Bill. Oh, and “as he swept his tongue through her mouth, he knew it was wrong, but he wanted her, wanted her in a way he’d never desired Frannie. He wanted Catherine rough, he wanted her tenderly” (203). He also admits to himself that he never thought of taking Frannie to bed. And Catherine is responding until . . . crap, it occurs to her that Frannie is right down the hall and she pulls away. She mentions that Frannie said she and Lucian had never kissed and he admits he doesn’t think of Frannie that way. Holy cannoli, dude, please get over this madness about marrying Frannie—if you don’t think of this woman as a woman, you really don’t need to have her as a wife. He tells Catherine that it’s her who he thinks about all the time. But Catherine, OMG, girl, you have the patience of Job. She asks Lucian if he and Frannie ever do anything together besides talk at Dodger’s—they should go out together; he needs to win Frannie over.
This whole time, Frannie and Bill are sitting in the dining room, talking about what just happened. She reiterates that she doesn’t want to be part of the aristocracy, and asks Bill if being among them concerns him. Nope, Bill says, I just imagine them as if they’re dead—everyone looks the same when they’re dead. Did I tell you that I love Dr. Bill?
Later that night, Lucian is talking to Jack Dodger. He says sometimes he feels like Frannie doesn’t love him and doesn’t want to tell him. He asks if Jack would tell him if he knew this to be true. Jack Houdinis his way out of answering. But he knows Frannie doesn’t love Lucian as anything but a brother. God, will someone tell this guy the real deal? Sigh.
Catherine and Winnie take her son, Whit, to the Great Exhibition. If you don’t know about the exhibition, take a second to hit up that link. If you read historical romance, you’ll hear about it more than once. The Koh-i-Noor diamond was a major draw. In this case, Whit is getting antsy, and wants to go before they can see the diamond. Catherine has been carrying the child most of the time. And boom, Winnie sees Lord Claybourne (with Frannie, who is with him, since Catherine suggested they do something other than talk about old times at Dodger’s) and is thinking about how they need to give him the cut direct, but Catherine not only acknowledges him with a smile, but they end up hanging out for the afternoon. This is actually the first time she’s seen Lucian in the daytime (alas, he is not a vampire! Oh, but this man would be a hot as FIRE vampire—did y’all see the BBC Dracula reboot? Claes Bang wins for best last name everrrrr. But I’m still in love with 2013 series with Jonathan Rhys Myers, who I could definitely see as Lucian here. He even has the eyes. Wait, hol’ up. JRM is definitely my Lucian. THE TUDORS! That show SAVED me at the beginning of the pandemic—I know, I was way late but finally, with lockdown, I had time to actually watch something—and it was so hot, though Henry wished he was that fine.)
Holy crap—Squirrel, come back!
So, as I mentioned before, Catherine has been inviting Lucian to balls for years, but he’s always ignored her. She left an invitation for this one, but he ignores that too. Now he’s in his library, drinking, and horny for her. Catherine hoped that he might change his mind, but now it’s almost midnight. So she gives up and goes out on the terrace and there he is, lurking in the shadows. He asks her to dance on the terrace and she calls him a coward for not coming in the front door. They snipe back and forth and he’s mad—“how dare she make him regret that he was not a better man” (234). So, for the second time in his life, he attends a ball, though his mere presence is scandalous. And they get their dance. She learns that he hasn’t forgotten anything about the first time he saw her, down to what she was wearing (sigh, swoon). They go back outside, and she tells him she doesn’t need him to kill anyone anymore, but she will continue to work with Frannie. Everything is perfect, right?
Nope, you know how they talk about how something as minor as the movement of a butterfly’s wings can affect everything? Him coming to this ball gets everything rolling (no pun intended).
He heads back to Dodger’s, and asks Frannie to waltz with him, but it doesn’t feel anything like when he had Catherine in his arms. He kisses her for the first time, and it’s fine, but . . . there isn’t the feeling he had with Catherine. Frannie is trying to get him to figure out on his own, but MEN. Anyway, Jim has found the guy who has been tailing Catherine, who was paid by “a fancy gent” to follow her and to kill Lucian. Jim and Lucian are shaking the guy down and trying to figure out who the fancy gent is when a note comes—Catherine needs him to bring the doctor to Avendale’s.
The Duke has beaten Winnie nearly to death because Lucian was invited to the ball. He figures out that Avendale is the one Catherine was planning to have him kill. But she didn’t want him to have to do it; she asks if Luke can teach her how to kill someone. Sure, he says, but there’s no need, because he’s going to do it himself. He has a plan. Catherine will go with Winnie and Whit to Dr. Graves’ but let everyone think they’re at Luke’s country estate to draw Avendale there so Luke can kill him. Sounds good, right?
But Catherine doesn’t want him to do it alone. She pulls Frannie aside and asks if she will take care of Winnie so that Catherine can go to the country with Luke. She admits she has feelings for Luke, but promises Frannie she’s not competition for his heart. And Frannie says something:
“ ‘Don’t leave him alone, especially at night. For some reason, he doesn’t’ do well at Heatherwood. Avendale won’t be the only demon he’ll face.’
Catherine detected an urging in Frannie’s voice, saw an understanding in her eyes, that was giving Catherine permission for something beyond what they were discussing” (254).
Lucian tries to dissuade her, but has he met her? So guess what? They’re off to the country. LH sets a scene that SPEAKS to me. Catherine is pushing back on the fact that Lucian is keeping her in the dark with everything, and finally she says:
“I think things between us would go much better if you’d simply explain the reasons for your orders,” she told him. “I don’t mean to be difficult, but I don’t want to be kept in the dark either” (259)
OMG, I need this as a tattoo! Dear Everyone in My Life: I get that you’re trying to help me, but for the love of all that’s holy, can you not treat me like an idiot and just tell me why you’re doing what you’re doing?
And he does. The fact that Lucian gets it shoots him way up in my estimation. Soon, he sends nearly everyone away from the estate . . .and it’s just them. They have a little time—Jack is supposed to be getting Avendale good and drunk to slow his progress. Poor Jack having to pretend to that horrible man had to be pretty awful. Catherine also explains how Lucian may have saved her years ago—see, in the beginning, Avendale seemed focused on her, not Winnie. After the stare down between Catherine and Lucian at the ball, Avendale turned his attentions to Winnie. Oh man, the thought of Avendale being with Catherine 🤮.
That night, they’re pretty alone (most of the staff have been sent to the village for safety). He cooks (an omelette, making me want one right now, but I also hate cooking, so it’s not happening. Thank God for HelloFresh, btw, because maybe I will be able to do my mom’s memory right and learn to cook. She was an amazing cook. Go to sleep, Squirrel). They head to bed, separately, though next door to each other. “Yet she knew, with absolutely no doubt, that he’d not come to her. That he’d not take advantage of her nearness. He was a scoundrel and a gentleman. He was the man she’d quite simply fallen madly in love with. And if she could have only one night with him, she would make it enough to last her lifetime” (266). It’s up to her to go to him. And he is hella conflicted. He feels like he is dishonoring Frannie, but he can only think about Catherine. He really doesn’t know what to think or do. And then Catherine comes in. Oh, dear sweet Lord, she says she doesn’t want to die a virgin. And y’all know where to go ↓
So they’re having an amazing time, waiting for Avendale to show up, making love, having picnics. She’s so happy. It’s not always perfection, though, because he does tell her about his past and the horrible thing that Geoffrey Langdon did to Frannie that led to Luke killing him (may he rot in hell—I know he’s a fictional character but he is the freaking worst). He doesn’t believe he’s the earl, and plans to renounce his claim to Claybourne. He’s trying to be an honorable man, more than just Feagan’s lad.
And they hear footsteps—Avendale has arrived. And he blames Catherine for everything. And he wants his wife and kid. And it’s time for you to finish the book without me, because there’s a lot of spoilers that I won’t cough up. This book is too good for me to tell all here, I promise you. A lot happens in the last 20% of the book, but it works—it’s not like she throws the kitchen sink at you willy-nilly. You’ve been watching the evidence accumulate, and the last 20% clicks everything into place.
I would love to hear what you have to say about this book, or this recap, or any of my recaps, or if you want to talk to a man about a Squirrel! You can leave a comment here on the blog or hit me up on Twitter or Facebook!
Now, it’s time for the SEX-AND-SPOILERS section.
Reminder, don’t continue if you don’t want to hear about sex and/or you don’t want to hear things that may spoil the ending. Second reminder: these are primarily HEAs, which means H (Hero) and h (heroine) are getting together before the last page. So you know it’s . . . well, you know.
Sex
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LH makes you wait for the sex in this book, which is fine. I was so hot and bothered waiting for them to get hot and bothered, it worked out well, lol. Once they’re finally alone at his estate, you can barely turn the page because you are just waiting for it to happen and hoping it will be good. Oh, and it’s good.
You’re ¾ of the way through the book before these two get it on and you’re in pain, waiting for it to happen. And when it does, it’s perfect. You’re in your feelings because they’re so perfect together, but they don’t seem fated for their HEA. The sex isn’t overly detailed, but the prose is wonderful, so you’re sated. Oh and then, a few pages later, they’re back at it. They’re definitely going to make up for lost time. Oh, and I love LH’s term for orgasm: cataclysm. That word just has all the right consonants, doesn’t it?
There’s a third time that’s not detailed, but still exciting.
Spoilers?
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The way Feagan’s lads named themselves tells a lot about them: Luke Locke, Jack Dodger, Jim Swindler, William Graves.
Luke never believed he could actually be the true heir. I’m not telling you if he is or not, because it’s something you need to read for yourself, but he was so torn about it. He felt like a fraud, but he also felt like he owed it to the old Earl, who was convinced he was the long-lost grandson. His coloring it perfect, so no wonder the old Earl thought he was the one.
I am in love with Jim. He’s a Scotland Yard inspector, but he is still one of Feagan’s lads. He does some hella shady shit but you still love him.
OMG, there is so much I want to talk about here. Like I said, the last 20% of the book is FIRE. Oh and Dr. Graves knows EVERYTHING because he’s the only doc they call. So he’s always got to hide stuff from his friends, but man, he will also tell you about yourself and I am THERE. FOR. IT.
Brother Sterling returns and he’s such an asshole, you want to hate him, but wait . . . he’ll be back in another book and that will change. He ends up being one of my favorite characters in the series.
These books all have epilogues, and MAR readers know I’m all about the epilogue. These actually project into the future, so you’ll be getting some lovely spoilers about the main characters, as well as the supporting ones.
Damn, I wish I could say more. Maybe we can have a chat session about the book on FB, only for folks who have read it. Squirrel would love to meet you all!
The Next Books
Okay, so there are actually THREE series connected to Lucian/Luke, Jack Dodger, Frannie, Jim Swindler, and Dr. Bill. Lorraine Heath has an awesome character guide on her website, BUT if you really want a spoiler-free reading experience, you should probably pass it by until you’ve read them all. But here are the series/books:
Scoundrels of St. James (I suggest you read these 5 in order—the other two series don’t require that as much, but this one, you should)
1. In Bed with the Devil: Lucian
2. Between the Devil and Desire: Jack
3. Surrender to the Devil: Frannie
4. Midnight Pleasures with a Scoundrel: Jim
5. The Last Wicked Scoundrel (novella): Bill
The next two series have to do with the children of our original characters:
Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James
1. When the Duke was Wicked
2. Once More, My Darling Rogue
3. The Duke and the Lady in Red
4. An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
5. Gentlemen Prefer Heiresses (novella)
1. Falling into Bed with a Duke
2. The Earl Takes All
3. The Viscount and the Vixen
4. When the Marquess Falls
Another thing, many of these overlap time periods. For instance, some things going on in Between the Devil and Desire and Surrender to the Devil are happening almost simultaneously. So it’s a good idea to read them in order, because you’ll remember things that occurred, but will see them from a different angle.
Other Books
Okay, I am a HUGE fan of Lorraine Heath. I went tearing through most of her books in early 2021. I reread a few for this blog, and was just as excited as the first time. Her Sins for All Seasons series is an absolute favorite of mine.
Note
One reason that I love her books is that everything isn’t all perfect in her writing universe. Honestly, if you think about it, there are only so many ideas that can be used—we have seen the inequal societal station, inequal financial situation, illegitimacy, naughty secrets, etc.—so sometimes it feels like you’re following a template. LH, however, seems to have a knack for adding creative twists that give the stories a little more oomph, as well as endearing you to her characters. There are health issues, as well as some disturbing/violent situations, but this is what goes on in real life. Hers are not sanitized, fairy tale stories, but she will hold your attention, make you laugh and cry (I’m serious—I have legit cried while reading several of her books), make you cheer on the hero/heroine, and sigh in relief (and sometimes gasp in horror). You WILL NOT skim or skip pages in these books.
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