The Wagering Widow (Mills & Boon Historical) [Paperback]

Emily Duprey, couldn't believe her good fortune when the very handsome Viscount Keating began to court her. After explaining to her that her father had denied him his suit, he easily convinced her to run away with him to Gretna Green. Considering that she was smitten with the handsome viscount, not only because he was the handsomest man, but also observing the kind and considerate treatment he showered on his elderly aunts, she willingly agreed. Finally she would escape from a life with a father whose gambling addiction she'd despised.

Discovering that Guy had married Emily for what turned out to be her non-existent fortune, and then showed himself to be a gamester like her father, she resolved to take matters into her own hands. Needing a great deal of money to escape this marriage, and knowing she was a good enough card player she became Lady Widow, a card-playing enchantress. Her new persona and disguise was so effective that when Guy showed up at the same gaming hell, seemingly not recognizing her as his wife, but desiring Lady Widow, she was furious and determined to fan his desires before leaving him. Recognizing her, though shocked to realize that this masked femme fatale was his plain and mousy Emily, Guy decided to play along to discover exactly what her game was, knowing that their marriage of convenience was about to take a very serious turn!

*** Following the fabulous debut of THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M, author Diane Gaston has succeeded once more in creating another original and brilliantly conceived sequel. The protagonists were so deeply sculpted into living-breathing individuals that the reader will immediately be feeling their emotional turmoil. I truly ached with the pain of betrayal Emily felt at discovering her husbands true motives, then thinking him no better than the gamester father she despised, and applauded her decision to escape the situation (a very unusual reaction for the time). While you might not like Guy's underhandedness, you'll see that he truly was a good person in planning to honor his marital vows in providing the best life he could for all of his dependents and was thrilled when he discovered beneath Emily's composed persona, a woman that took his breath away. While few actual scenes of sexuality, the entire tone of the book was steeped in sensuality and will satisfy anyone lucky enough to obtain a copy. This newer author delivers reading pleasure of the highest order! Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

Lord Guy Keating inherited a mess. He was the second son of an addicted gambler. He was the younger brother of an addicted gambler. Now he is the heir to an impoverished title and estate. Hastily, Guy Keating weds the wealthy, plain Miss Emily Duprey - for her dowry . . .

But Emily Duprey has no dowry . . .

Modest, soft-spoken Emily Duprey dwells in a dreary life. Her unloving mother drinks, her lecherous father gambles, and Emily lives ignored - ignored until Lord Keating comes courting. Finally, she has some sunshine in her life, enough sunshine to cast a ray of hope, until Guy discovers her dowry is nothing but a myth. Once again, Emily Duprey-Keating dwells in a dreary life, but this time it is her husband who ignores and rejects her.

Slyly, she plots her escape from this miserable marriage. Disguised as the mysterious, masked 'Lady Widow', Emily glides into a London gaming house. Behind these seedy walls, she will play the devil's game, and she will win enough for her freedom. In Emily's secret world, all is well, until her distanced husband arrives. Now the art of gambling DOES become a game - the game of seduction and love.

THE WAGERING WIDOW is an impressive book. However this time I didn't feel the poignancy, the deep soul penetration I experienced in Gaston's THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M. Alas, I guess the genius of Gaston spoiled me and I wanted to sample that feeling again. Still I do recommend this book; this is an author to appreciate. Fellow reviewer Marilyn Rondeau stated Diane Gaston is a rising star in the romance world; I couldn't agree more.

MaryGrace Meloche
Reviewer for: Romance Designs

Behind Emily's quiet, mousy façade rests a spunky female who longs for love and a desire to escape her father-a gambler who sent away Emily's sister, Madeline, after a scandal, declaring her "dead." Emily is thrilled that a handsome, wealthy man would desire her, and agrees to elope when Guy tells her that her father refused to allow their marriage. Although their wedding night is bliss, Guy soon loses interest in the marriage bed. If that isn't bad enough, when Guy takes her home after their honeymoon in Scotland and introduces Emily to his mother, the elderly woman makes it clear she doesn't approve of the marriage. Even so, Emily is determined to make the best of things.

Then Emily then learns Guy married her only for her inheritance - a mere pittance. Determined not to live with a man who doesn't love her, she devises a plan: Using her deceased mother's clothing, she'll disguise herself as "Lady Widow" and use the card skills she learned from her father to win sufficient money to escape a loveless marriage and live on her own. She seeks the aid of her married brother, Robert, who also possesses the gambling habit.

When the masked, alluring "Lady Widow" appears at a gambling house, the men quickly bet on who will be the first to bed her. Cyprian Stone, an acquaintance of Lord Keating, convinces Guy to join him at the betting establishment to meet "Lady Widow." Guy is astonished when he discovers that the seductive "Lady Widow" is his mousy wife, and soon wonders if she, like her father, is addicted to gambling. Though he's hot happy about the fact other men are vying to bed her, he hides his discovery, playing along with her game, intent on preventing the other men from winning the bet - and discovering the answer to his worst fear.

Complications arise when Cyprian Stone also realizes that the "Lady Widow" is Lady Emily, Guy's wife. Determined to win the ever increasing bet regarding bedding the woman, Cyprian threatens Emily, using knowledge of her sister Madeline's past scandal and present identity as a happily married woman to force Emily into bed. But will he succeed?

"The Wagering Widow" by Diane Gaston, aka Diane Perkins, is a thoroughly engrossing tale of love and deception, of desire and hope. The characters are wonderfully drawn, their goals and emotions expertly revealed as the story unveils. Emily possesses an inner strength and an ability to be kind in the face of rejection, characteristics that gained my admiration during the first few pages. Guy's reasons for marrying Emily at first appear selfish, however the reason for doing so are not: he wants merely to erase his father's debts and provide for his aging mother and two aunts. Guy isn't as shallow as he first appears; especially when he learns to admire Emily's calm and patience in the face of his mother's obvious disapproval. All too soon, Guys begins to understand of the true strength of character in the woman he married, and his initial attraction grows into full fledged love. "The Wagering Widow" is a great read and a definite keeper.