The Scot's seduction

A Scottish laird falls for the least suitable woman in the ton. Murdoch, the Earl of Cragmore, doesn't want to be in London. He's only there because he promised his sister to give his orphaned niece, Emily, a proper debut, but she doesn't want him involved and causes a row in the street. That leads to an interruption from the house they're arguing in front of, in the form of Lady Drusilla Courtenay. Drusilla, a happy spinster whom society perceives as "charmingly eccentric rather than merely odd," has a penchant for interfering. She yanks them into her house and coaxes their story out of them, eventually deciding to take them under her roof to begin the transformation that young Emily and the taciturn "Scottish oaf" Murdoch both need to fit in with London society for the Season. Drusilla and Murdoch are physically drawn to each other immediately, and as Drusilla is a woman who always likes to have a paramour nearby, there are no impediments as they slowly intensify their connection. Drusilla has sworn never to fall in love again after a bad experience long ago, and Murdoch prefers a quiet, rural life with his sheep, so both expect their affair to last no longer than the Season--until Murdoch realizes he's hopelessly in love with her. The second volume in Frampton's Heirs & Spares series introduces Drusilla as the sister of Diantha fromThe Devil's Charm, but this story is at a far enough remove that it reads as a standalone. Much like the first book, however, the story is graced with a signature strong-minded Frampton heroine and packed with charming banter and steamy scenes, in this case mostly driven by Drusilla's discovery that she prefers to be told what to do in the bedroom. The strongest element of the book is the depth of emotional connection that develops between the leads, leading to a satisfying ending in more ways than one. A fun, fast-paced Victorian romance between equals. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.