Devil's Wager [Mass Market Paperback]

Lad is a strong and interesting character. We find out why he leaves the United States, and even after a traumatic time in his life during The War of 1812 (losing his brother and shortly thereafter his mother), he still takes up his birth right in England. Not an easy move, and not one most people would have made. He loved his home and the memories it held of his family, but he was able to move beyond that. Once in England, watching Lad struggle with both the aristocracy and common folk is fascinating. He tries to befriend his tenants and ultimately sets them against him because of his egalitarian beliefs. They just don't understand him, and being an American, he just can't think of them as inferior or himself as superior. How he overcomes this and develops his character, makes for great reading.

I found Diana a bit of a weak character, not believing in Lad's love (he figured out his letters were not reaching her, why could she not figure the same, especially for an intelligent person) and sticking so strongly to her home. The idea that love is not enough does not sit well with me (as a fan of romance books). How she could love Lad for what he is, but wants to change the very things that make him who he is, is unrealistic. The writing itself is wonderfully done, and I truly enjoyed reading Devil's Wager.

As much as she loved him in return, Diana had made a prior commitment to protect the castle, the land, and the tenants at all costs. She knew her beloved American husband could not understand her feelings, anymore than he could fit into his role as the earl, but when he lost the entire estate on the turn of a card, Diana was forced to send him away until he could earn the money to redeem it.

For the first several months of his exile, Lad's efforts met with nothing but failure. Then he had the good fortune to run into a real-life guardian angel who taught him how to behave like an English gentleman and helped him find an honorable way to win back his inheritance and his wife. Under his tutelage, Lad began to understand the English social system and, indeed, his own responsibilities as the earl of Kerlaine.

What a shock, then, to return to Kerlaine with the means to redeem it, only to find his wife preparing to honor a dastardly wager of her own!

The last of Mary Spencer's "Wager" trilogy, this book may be the best of them all. Not only does it portray the triumph of true love over evil, but it makes even this patriotic American reader begin to understand and appreciate the purposes and benefits of the English class system.

I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone who has read the other two books. If you haven't, I am not sure that you will appreciate some of the minor characters in this book.