Touch Meby Lucy Monroereviewed by Cheryl SneedSeptember 2005, 317 pages, Publisher: Berkley, ISBN: 0425205312 Back Cover Blurb: Miss Althea Selwyn, born in England and raised in the West Indies, is quite unlike any lady of Pierson Drake's acquaintance. Outspoken and opinionated, she can curse like a sailor and add up a column of figures in her head. Drake realizes immediately that there is more to her than meets the eye, and he is pleased to have the opportunity to unravel the mystery when she cleverly maneuvers him into taking her back to London on his ship.
Drake is shocked to find himself completely enthralled by Thea's combination of passion and innocence, intelligence and loyalty – and a stubborn recklessness that could put her in harm's way. For Thea is determined to discover who has been embezzling money from the shipping venture she manages with her uncle – and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure she never reaches London alive.
Luckily Drake is no ordinary pampered English gentleman. He was raised under a cloud of scandal, and he's had to scheme and fight to attain his present position of wealth and power. Now it will take every asset at his command to keep Thea out of trouble – and in his arms where she belongs.
Anna Selwyn, the Countess of Langley, has been wrongly accused by her husband of having an adulterous affair. When she subsequently gives birth, the earl takes her son away from her to raise himself, after all, he needs an heir. After the earl leaves, Anna gave birth to another child, a girl she names Althea. She enlists the help of her maid to keep the child a secret, not too difficult to do since Anna has been banished from the estate. Anna eventually settles in the British West Indies and becomes a partner in a shipping company based there.
"Thea's" mother died when she was ten and was subsequently raised by her "aunt" and "uncle" and made a partner in the company in her mother's place when she came of age. Now, 23 years old, Thea is an unusual and independent woman. She was raised to be a lady, but didn't have the strictures placed upon her as she would have had in England. She is bold, outspoken in her abhorrence of slavery and used to having her own way. Because of her mother's experience, she is also very opposed to being married.
Pierson Drake, is the owner of a combination sail/steam engine ship trying to break a round-trip trans-Atlantic run. He is in port for engine repairs, but Thea has the only blacksmith on the island tied up with her projects. She trades use of the blacksmith for passage to London on his ship. She has discovered some discrepancies in her company's books and fears embezzling. She has to get to London fast to see if it really is her "uncle's" son who is doing the embezzling – and, when an attempt is made on her life, it becomes even more important to find some answers.
Her great-aunt, Lady Upworth, has kept Thea abreast of events in England; news and sketches of the brother she's never seen arrive regularly, as well as invitations to sponsor her for a Season. She uses this as an excuse for her hasty trip, and hopes to see her brother when in England.
While aboard ship, Thea and Drake become friends and then more then friends, sharing a passionate interlude, after which Drake asks Thea to marry him. Of course she refuses, but Drake is nothing if not persistent and when another attempt is made on Thea's life, he is determined to keep her safe.
These scenes aboard ship were very nicely done. Drake began the book fairly autocratic – just the kind of man Thea's mother warned her against, but he mellowed a bit as his feelings for Thea deepened. He also has some insecurity based on the fact that he is illegitimate and when he realizes that Thea couldn't care less about that fact, he is well and truly smitten.
Thea was a bit more of a problem. She keeps her secrets regarding her company and her family very closely guarded. It is only with great reluctance that she parts with any information at all. She is very frightened about her feelings for Drake, fearing that he will be the same controlling force as her father, and she holds on to this view for far too long, when she has plenty of evidence to the contrary. But Drake sticks with her, committed to solving the puzzle of the embezzlement, the attempts on her life, and to trying to convince Thea to marry him.
This is Monroe's first historical novel, having written only contemporaries before now, and it is a good one. For a first-timer, she has a pretty good feeling for the era and its customs, and Thea and Drake are compelling characters. The resolution of the embezzling plot had a great twist that I enjoyed, as did Thea's confrontation with her father. There are two more Regency-set novels to follow about Thea's brother and sister. I'm looking forward to them.
Reviewed by Cheryl Sneed, September 20, 2005
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