A Lady by Chance by Cheryl Bolen
Book #1: House of Haverstock
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

The House of Haverstock series is my first experience with the writings of Cheryl Bolen and I firmly believe I started at the right place!

Anna de Mouchet is, according to the gossip, a wealthy whore just like her mother before her. If everyone knew the truth of the matter, Anna’s reputation would be much, much better than it is and she wouldn’t have spent her meager 18 years virtually alone and shunned by society. Though she knows her life will be a disappointment to her dearly departed mother, Anna is content to be alone with her charity work. Content is very different from happy but with her reputation, Anna really has no other option.

When Sir Henry Vinson approaches Anna with a proposition of the gravest nature, she agrees to his scheme. No matter what her heritage says, Anna is a true Englishwoman and no one could ever doubt her loyalty. According to Sir Henry, there is a traitor among his colleagues at the Foreign Office and with Anna’s help they can trap the man and bring justice to the Crown. As a true and loyal patriot, Anna is willing to help in any way she can and so she agrees to trick Charles, the Marquess of Haverstock into marrying her. With some sleight of hand, a lot of liquor and some careful negotiation, Anna quickly finds herself bound to the Marquess and the Marchioness of Haverstock.

Charles Upton, Marquess of Haverstock never saw himself a married man. At 32, he is devoted to his work, his family and, the occasional mistress. Without doubt, Anna de Mouchet manipulated him into marrying her but for what reason, Charles is unsure. What he knows about his wife he can fit into a thimble but he quickly realizes, Anna is far more than she appears to be and damn if he doesn’t want to know more about her. It takes Anna very little time to fit in with his sisters (not so much his mother!) and his best friend, Morgie Morgan but Charles is wary by nature and treads lightly where Anna is concerned. He wants to trust his wife and the more he gets to know her, the more enraptured he is by her.

For Anna’s part, she just can’t figure out how Sir Henry thinks Charles is a spy as his every action speaks to true patriotism. Anna is torn between her mission with Sir Henry and her growing affection for Charles. As the days move forward, Anna’s loyalties become divided and she does everything possible to do the right thing by both her husband and her country. As fate would have it, Anna has unwittingly become involved in a terrible situation that will eventually involve murder, true espionage and kidnapping. Through every horrible moment and event, Charles and Anna are led to believe that the other is a traitor and not to be trusted. Given the circumstances of their marriage, each makes one blunder after the other creating an even greater mess that has national as well as personal implications.

The Bottom Line: I rather enjoyed A Lady by Chance with its historical setting, its interesting characters and, plot that is not all that complicated but intriguing and fun nonetheless. Anna is a pure delight with a heart of gold and only the best of intentions. Unfortunately, Anna gets sucked into a devious man’s plot and no matter how hard she tries to extricate herself from the situation, it only gets worse. At every turn, Anna enlists the help of Morgie and her sister-in-law, Lydia (both incredibly interesting characters!) and between the three, they scheme and plot to salvage a miserable situation. Charles, the Marquess of Haverstock is such a stodgy old man for being only 32 years old. His work is vitally important to him and before Anna, he never thought anything would be more important than his work. He makes mistakes with Anna at every turn but in the end, he proves himself to be a true and loyal husband and no traitor to either his wife or his country.
The plot of A Lady by Chance is not at all hard to follow or overly complicated but it did keep me interested from start to finish. You can see very early on who the true traitor is but it doesn’t really matter. Bolen creates a whole series of obstacles and issues for her characters that keep the plot moving along and gaining speed as the end grows ever nearer. The plot is further enhanced with the help of a large, easily distinguishable and, generally enjoyable cast of characters. In all, A Lady by Chance is a fine regency romance and I am already on to book two, Duchess by Mistake! ( )

Very nice run-of-the-mill marriage of convenience story with touches of espionage thrown in. ( )