Series: Notorious Bachelors (Book 3)
SOME SECRETS CAN BE SHARED ONLY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
The art of deception didn't baffle Michael Hepburn, but
innocence did. His new wife was trusting, lovely, and, to his amazement,
utterly bewitching.
Julianne Sutton had always known she would wed the
Marquess of Longhaven, as arranged by both families years earlier. She'd
assumed, however, that it would be the affable ducal heir Harry who would be
her husband, not his enigmatic brother. When Harry died unexpectedly and
Michael took his place as the new marquess, more than just her plans for her
marriage were altered.
Michael battled a ruthless enemy in a game of espionage
and deceit, but when he discovered that his new wife might have secrets of her
own, he quickly learned that love had an entirely different set of rules....
In the final book of the trilogy, Michael is the last of
the three friends to remain unmarried, though that doesn't last long. In the
previous books, he is described as enigmatic, controlled, and intense. In this
one, we learn a little more about what has made him the man he is now. Michael
worked for years as a spy for Wellington in the war against Napoleon. He was
called home when his older brother died and took up his duties as the Marquess
of Longhaven, including marrying his brother's fiancée. He also continued his
work for the Crown, working to tie up loose ends from the war.
Julianne is beautiful, young, and innocent. She seems to
be a bit of a pushover at the very beginning, giving in to the change of fiancé
with no argument, allowing others to take control of the wedding planning, and
so on. But it quickly becomes evident that she is smart, observant, and brave,
along with having a kind heart.
I enjoyed watching the development of Michael and
Julianne's relationship. It builds slowly as they don't know each other much at
all before the wedding. Michael is determined to keep his life separate from
Julianne. That doesn't work out too well from the start, as two days before the
wedding he was attacked. The injury Michael received was not something that
could be hidden on his wedding night, though he did his best to distract her
from it. I ached a little for Julianne those first few days after the wedding,
as it was clear to her that Michael avoided her during the days. I loved seeing
her gently call him out on his actions. She is far more perceptive than Michael
expected, and there are some scenes where he must think fast to keep his
secrets. Julianne wants more from her marriage than just a physical
relationship, and her intuition and attention open Michael's eyes to a whole
new concept of marriage. I enjoyed how Michael's increasing fascination with
his wife warred with his desire to protect his secrets.
At the same time, Michael is still involved in his work
for the Crown. He has experienced several attacks and suspects that the culprit
is the French spy who was his nemesis during the war. Assisting him are two
fellow spies, Lawrence and Antonia. Things are somewhat awkward with Antonia,
as she was Michael's lover several years earlier. He is over it, but she is
not. All of them are intent on finding out who is behind the attacks on
Michael. It was interesting to see who was following who and why. Michael was
also worried about Julianne's safety. Julianne turned out to be hiding a secret
of her own and was quite adept at evading observation when she wanted to. As
Michael closed in on the person trying to kill him, he discovered an unexpected
connection to Julianne. The final confrontation was intense but left one
question unanswered.
There was a secondary romance between Lawrence and
Antonia. Lawrence's feelings for Antonia were evident from the beginning. I
felt bad for him because of her continuing infatuation with Michael. There were
times when I didn't like her very much and thought that she was using Lawrence.
As the book went on, I was impressed with Lawrence's control as he waited for
her to work through her feelings.
The epilogue was well done, with a conversation between
Michael and his boss. I did not expect the information that Michael confronted
Charles with, and hadn't seen it coming at all. There was also a meeting
between Michael and Lawrence. I had to laugh at the advice Michael had for him
about dealing with Antonia.
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