One thing I love about Jane Feather’s books is her ability to evoke particular places and times in her work. She is one of the few authors who sets her books in a variety of times and places and in each, the reader truly feels transported. This time around, she has returned to Regency England for a tale of some truly independent-minded ladies and their reentry to Society.

Since the death of her husband, Lady Cornelia Dagenham has been buried in the country with her children. Though she has close friends nearby, her life is limited by the demands of her overbearing father-in-law and his control over her finances. Cornelia finally rebels and decides to go to London for a visit, together with her sister-in-law and their children. As it happens, Cornelia’s friend Livia has inherited a house in a fashionable part of the city and the three ladies decide to stay there for a month.

However, there is more to Livia’s new house than meets the eye. The house has caught the attention of Harry, Viscount Bonham, who works as a code-breaker for the Crown. For reasons related to his top secret work, Harry is determined to gain full access to the house and when he is rebuffed in his attempts to buy it, he finds himself spending an inordinate amount of time gaining the confidence of the occupants. Though he finds all three ladies refreshing and intelligent, he is particularly drawn to Cornelia.

Harry is a widower who has at least a bit of scandal attached to him and, though Cornelia is drawn to him, she is conflicted. Having a relationship with someone as mysterious as Harry frightens her. There is also the question of her children. Cornelia is convinced that she must remain utterly above reproach in order to prevent her father-in-law from wresting control of them away from her.

Harry and Cornelia are both mature and intelligent people who have been married before. Their courtship, as one would expect, is an affair between actual grown-ups and this makes it refreshing to read. Another strength of this novel lies in the plotting. For starters, the book has an actual plot. While Harry and Cornelia’s relationship is an important part of the story, there is more to the book. Secondary characters and plots play important roles, and the hero and heroine lead interesting lives, rather than merely having the occasional argument between long, drawn-out sex scenes.

Indeed, the author creates such a readable and enjoyable world here that I almost ranked this one a keeper. If it weren’t for a few loose ends left dangling and an ending that was perhaps a little too pat, this book would have ended as a keeper for sure. As it is, this story is still well worth reading and I most definitely recommend it.