When a young, drunk, highly eligible earl falls out of a tree and onto one's foot, what's a young woman to do? Well, being ever practical, Eleanor Lyndon helps him up, dusts him down and takes him back to the village where he's left his carriage. The last thing she expects to recieve is a marriage proposal when a simple thank you would have sufficed.
But Charles Wycombe, Earl of Billington, is desperate. He has two weeks left until he turns thirty, and if he's not married by then, he'll lose his fortune. There's no one in London he can bear to marry, but Ellie seems intelligent and witty enough - she'll do. After all, who'd refuse an earl?
Ellie would. Ellie would absolutely love to, except her father's about to marry the gossip from hell, her sister is abroad and her hard earned investments are out of reach. The future looks bleak, so she has no alternative but to accept.
All thing's considered, Charles is quite delighted with his spur-of-the-moment wife - apart from when she sets the kitchen on fire, kills the roses and causes some unidentified stench that covers the south wing. In fact accidents seem to follow Ellie around where she goes, and for a woman who is the epitome of capability she can't understand how. All she wants is to carve out a place for herself in her new life. Surely no one can argue with that, can they?
This tale is an utter delight. Charles and Ellie are a wonderful pair. sparking wit, tension, frustration and excellent one-liners with every encounter. Some of the situations they encounter are nothing short of farcical, and always carried out with JQ's irrepressible sense of humour.
A wonderful novel that definitely ranks as high as the 'Bridgertons' for me. Read it, enjoy it, then smile.
