The Duke That I Marry by Cathy Maxwell

Narrated by Mary Jane Wells

The Duke That I Marry is the final book in Cathy Maxwell’s trilogy of Spinster Heiresses novels, which features a group of three friends, all of them with massive dowries. In the first book, we were introduced to Leonie, Cassandra and Willa as they passed the time at all the various events to which they were endlessly invited by playing a game in which they scored points for attracting the notice of the Ton’s most eligible bachelor, the young, incredibly handsome (and incredibly broke) Matthew Addison, Duke of Camberly.

Having failed to marry either Leonie or Cassandra, Camberly at last offered for Willa and then retreated to his country estate, partly to avoid the gossip surrounding the termination of his rather scandalous affair with a married woman and partly so he could get a firm grip on the management of his estate and finances.

A rather large spanner is thrown into the works however when Willa decides to call off the wedding literally the DAY before. Matt desperately needs the money to shore up the Camberly finances and effect repairs to the estate, so he leaves immediately for London to see if there’s any way he can salvage the situation – and there, learns that Willa has been upset by his lack of attention (and presence) since their betrothal. He went haring off home after it was agreed, and although she knows theirs is no love match, she still feels somewhat neglected. Matters aren’t helped by the fact that before he became a duke, plain Matthew Addison, whose father was cast off by his family when he fell in love with and married an actress, never expected to inherit and had lived the life of a scholar, publishing a book of love poems which became popular with young ladies. Willa can’t help reading his words and comparing them with his treatment of her and realising she’s worth more and wants more. She wants to matter to the man she is to spend her life with, and a man who was, until recently, in thrall to his (married) mistress and who would betroth himself to her and then disappear has clearly shown she doesn’t matter to him.

Matt is – fortunately – not a cold, unfeeling man and while he makes no bones about needing Willa’s money, he is also able to understand why she is upset and to persuade her to give him a chance as a husband. The wedding goes ahead – but not before Willa’s mother has put the fear of God into Willa regarding the marriage bed and childbirth – Willa is petite and Matt is a large man (all over, natch!) – and told her never to trust him because men all are deceiving pigs. (Well, she doesn’t use those words, but clearly, years with an unfaithful husband who takes no notice of her have taken their toll!)

I enjoy marriage of convenience stories; watching two strangers struggling to find common ground, forge a relationship and eventually fall in love is like catnip to yours truly, and the aspect of this story that deals with how Matt and Willa start out on their married life is well done – although the author gives the couple a pretty disastrous wedding night, which at least made a change from all those virgins who have multiple orgasms their first time! Matt is a decent man trying to do his best in a situation he was never trained for or expected to find himself in, and he finds himself delighted by his new wife, quickly realising that there’s more to her than the beautiful but demure and seemingly biddable young woman he’d glimpsed on the few occasions they’d met. He was badly burned by his mistress, however, realising that he’d made a bit of an idiot of himself by acting like a lovesick boy over her, but deciding, as a result, never to become so deeply attached to someone ever again. Yet it’s not long before Willa is making her way under his skin and into his heart – and he comes to see that love isn’t all about fireworks and passion and to appreciate that what he could have with Willa – a soul deep connection and understanding – is something far more desirable.

For a book about a Spinster Heiress, I haven’t said much about the heroine – probably because I found Willa less of an interesting character than either Leonie or Cassandra in the other books. And in fact, where those ladies had some interesting challenges to face – Leonie was battling alcoholism and Cassandra discovered that her guardian had embezzled her fortune – Willa doesn’t have anything like that to overcome. Yes, there’s the fact she’s grown up with parents who don’t like each other very much and her father is a crass, serial adulterer, but the way those things have affected her aren’t explored all that much. Matt is the more interesting character; brought up by loving parents, he’s more than a bit miffed that he is going to be forced to give up the prospect of love himself because of poor decisions made by others, especially after the reasons for the state of the Camberly finances are revealed to him.

But the book stumbles in two places. We learn in the opening chapter that the Camberly estate is near bankruptcy because Matt’s grandfather was being blackmailed, and although the blackmail stopped with his death, Matt becomes determined to discover who was behind it. When things come to a head near the end, it’s over the top, unbelievable and unexciting and the identity of the villain is obvious from the get-go (fortunately, Matt works it out, too, so at least he’s not made to look a complete idiot!) But worse than that – for a romance – is that while certain aspects of the marriage of convenience plot are handled well, I never really understood why either Matt or Willa fell for each other. Okay, I can maybe see why Willa would fall for Matt – he’s the opposite of her boorish father and he treats her with respect and kindness – but I’m not sure what he really saw in her, other than that’s she’s physically attractive. And as a result, the romance falls flat, and the book doesn’t feel as though it has much substance.

The excellent Mary Jane Wells does her best to turn an essentially middling book into something more, but it’s an uphill struggle and even her vocal talents couldn’t, in the end, push The Duke That I Marry to the top of that hill. She’s a terrific actress, and I always enjoy her portrayals of the character roles, such as crusty dowager (Matt’s domineering grandmother), blustering boor (Willa’s father) and beleaguered butler; plus she always makes the hero sound attractively masculine without needing to drop her voice into her boots, and differentiates well between all the characters. One of the things I often mention in reviews of her performances is how good she is at bringing out the humour in the dialogue, but although she does do that here, sadly there isn’t a great deal of it to work with. Also, I wasn’t wild about her portrayal of Willa, who sounds, a lot of the time, like a girl rather than a young woman which made some scenes a bit problematic.

That apart, though, Ms. Wells delivers a more than decent performance and one that her fans may enjoy if looking for something new from her. Sadly, however, the book itself is rather dull, sending off the Spinster Heiresses with a wet splat rather than a bang.

Caz