Trusting Miss Trentham by Emily Larkin

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Trusting Miss Trentham is the second full-length novel in Emily Larkin’s historical-with-a-touch-of-the-paranormal Baleful Godmother series, which features a group of young women who have been granted magical ‘gifts’ by their faerie godmother. (There is a novella – Resisting Miss Merryweather – between book one, Unmasking Miss Appleby, and this one, but it’s not necessary to have read or listened to either of them to enjoy this instalment). Each of the ladies is allowed to choose their gift – although they must choose carefully, as the aforementioned faerie godmother is not the benevolent sort so often found in fairy tales and will trick them if she can – and in this story, our heroine, Leticia Trentham, has chosen to be able to hear when someone is lying to her.

There’s a good reason for this choice. Letty is heiress to a massive fortune and knew that she would need to be able to tell the difference between a man who wanted her for herself and one who wanted her for her money. Now aged twenty-eight, the more than two hundred marriage proposals she has received in the years since her come out at twenty-one have all been made by fortune hunters, and now, she rather despairs of ever finding a man who can tell her honestly that he isn’t just after her money. She knows she doesn’t have much else to recommend her; she’s not pretty or possessed of the other sorts of qualities likely to attract a husband. She doesn’t simper or defer and she’s intelligent and not afraid to show it – which isn’t exactly a sought-after quality on the marriage mart. She has just turned down yet another would-be suitor when she is approached by a tall, gaunt man with a military bearing and an undeniable air of exhaustion who has heard of her uncanny ability to be able to tell truth from lies – and who asks for her help.

Icarus Reid – formerly a major in Wellington’s army – resigned his commission after the Battle of Vimeiro, and although not fully recovered from a debilitating illness, has returned to England intent on seeking out a traitor, the man who betrayed him, a fellow officer, and three local scouts to the French before the battle. He explains that he is the only one who survived their captivity and asks Letty to accompany him when he questions the two men he suspects could have been responsible for telling the French where to find them.

Sensing Reid is a dangerous man, one who is close to the end of his tether, Letty is naturally wary. But she can hear the desperation in his voice as well as the ring of absolute truth, so she agrees to do what she can to help – and when the information gleaned provides Reid with three new potential suspects, she finds herself eager to continue to investigate. The need to find ways to meet Reid in secret so as not to compromise her reputation has given her a newfound feeling of freedom, something she has never really experienced before, and she finds she likes this newer, bolder version of herself. However, Reid is reluctant to take up her offer of further help for fear of damaging her good name; she’s already risked ruin by meeting him in secret and entering a prison (one of the original suspects was in the Marshalsea debtor’s prison) and Reid is not feeling particularly comfortable about his insistence she accompany him there. But Letty has a plan – and even though he knows he should not allow her to become any more involved, Reid’s desire to root out the traitor is stronger than his gentlemanly instincts.

Letty and Reid are well-rounded, three-dimensional characters, and their romance progresses in a quietly understated manner, which fits both them and their circumstances. It’s clear right from the start that Reid is suffering from what we’d today call PTSD, and that all that’s keeping him going is his desire for revenge against whomever caused the deaths of his four companions on that fateful day at Vimeiro. As they travel together, Letty begins to form her own ideas as to what is distressing Reid so deeply, but he steadfastly refuses to tell the truth about what happened to him or to let her get close. Yet her quiet, steadfast care of him every night when he wakes, sick and disorientated from horrific nightmares starts to break down his resistance and he slowly begins to reassess her, to value her intelligence, her kindness and her determination and discovers – against his better judgement – that he can’t bear the idea of being without her.

Letty falls into an infatuation quite quickly, but as their time together continues, she starts to see past the man burdened by misdirected guilt and self-hatred to the good-natured, easy-going and confident man Reid could – and should – be; the man with whom she is falling more in love every day.

Reid and Letty are a well-matched couple whose interactions are generally characterised by honesty and good sense. Their mutual respect and affection are clear, even when they’re annoyed with one another, but there is one point in their story which may prove too much of a stumbling block for some – namely, the circumstances of their first sexual encounter. It’s difficult to say much without spoilers, other than that Letty, in her complete innocence and inexperience, makes a serious error of judgement. After his initial shock, Reid gently puts her straight and explains why what she did was wrong, but it’s still a little uncomfortable to listen to.

On a more positive note, I appreciated the way in which the author sets Reid on the road to recovery. There’s no overnight miracle cure, and as Letty admits to herself, no guarantee that Reid will ever be completely healed, but there IS a real sense that he’s achieved closure and is ready to move forward with his life. And if Letty’s love and unconditional support give Reid something worth living for, in return, he provides her with the love and happiness she’d never thought to have.

It’s always a great pleasure to listen to Rosalyn Landor. I know she’ll deliver a polished, highly accomplished performance and that I can just sit back and enjoy the story without having to worry about any mangled words or vocal ticks that will take me out of the story! Her enunciation is perfect, her pacing is just right, and she characterises both leads extremely well; Reid’s deep world-weariness is evident in his voice, and Letty is softly spoken but clearly not a pushover. There are quite a few supporting characters here, including servants, Letty’s friends and relatives, and all the various military men whom Reid questions; Ms. Landor differentiates skilfully and effectively between all of them, assigning regional accents to some of the servants, and giving suitably pompous airs and graces to characters such as Letty’s snobbish half-brother. As ever she really gets under the skins of the leads, unerringly pinpointing the emotional heart of their relationship and imbuing their interactions with just the right degree of expression and emotional nuance. It will come as no surprise when I say it’s an excellent performance all round, and that overall – and in spite of that one reservation I’ve expressed – I’m giving Trusting Miss Trentham a strong recommendation.

Caz

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