Narrated by Beverly A. Crick
In Fortune Favors the Viscount, the final book in Caroline Linden’s The Wagers of Sin series, Nicholas Dashwood, the owner of the Vega Club – featured in the other books in the series – finally meets his match in the form of a resourceful young woman who barges her way into the club one morning in order to present him with some life-changing information. I’m a big fan of both author and narrator, so I settled in to enjoy the listen, and I did, although I can’t say I found it quite as compelling as some of the author’s other books.
When we first meet governess Emilia Greene, she’s fortifying herself with a swig of brandy as she looks at the frontage of the notorious Vega club through the grimy window of a hired hackney. It’s early morning, so all the club’s patrons have departed and she knows that if her plan is to stand any chance of success, it’s now or never. One final mouthful of brandy and she exits the cab, and is surprised when she finds the front door open. When she enters, she’s challenged by an imposing man who tells her the club is closed; Emilia draws on her experience on the imperious ladies of the ton and pointedly asks to be taken to see Mr. Nicholas Dashwood at once. Despite repeated refusals Emilia stands her ground – she has very good reason to – and is eventually admitted into Mr. Dashwood’s presence.
Nick is not at all interested in what this audacious young woman might have to say – he’s heard it all, several times over – but when she does come to the point, he has to admit that she was telling the truth when she told him he’d never heard a proposition like hers. After a brief excursion through his family tree, she drops the bombshell at its conclusion – he is the new Viscount Sydenham.
Dashwood’s reaction takes Emilia by surprise. She’d expected some enthusiasm, perhaps, or at least some degree of interest, but he is dismissive and shocks her when he tells her he doesn’t want to claim the title. Emilia can sense things getting away from her and redoubles her efforts to persuade him, offering to help him pursue the claim, pointing out he has a duty to claim the title – but he is unmoved. Nicholas is also no fool, and can sense that Emilia has some other motive for bringing this matter to him and he wants to know what it is; with some reluctance, Emilia explains that the previous viscount left his nine-year-old daughter, Lucinda, completely unprovided for, and if Nicholas doesn’t assume the title and it goes into abeyance, she will be destitute. To her dismay, he repeats his refusal and tells her to go home.
Nick has no love for the aristocracy. He’s seen too many irresponsible gentlemen gambling away their homes and fortunes and indulging in all kinds of debauchery to become to want to become a member of it, and besides, he likes his life perfectly well the way it is. But he can’t deny that the very attractive Miss Greene is possessed of the qualities he’s always admired in a woman – determination, passion and intelligence – or that, had her request not been so very outrageous, he might have been charmed enough to give in. He decides to do some investigating of his own, and is even more intrigued when he discovers that Miss Greene is actually Miss Greenborough, the niece of the Earl of Harlow, and that, for reasons he doesn’t yet know, has eschewed a life of ease in favour of becoming a governess.
It’s not until a few days later that Nick starts to realise that perhaps there may be some advantages to becoming a peer of the realm that he hadn’t considered. His fifteen-year-old ward is growing up fast, and his position as a viscount would definitely ease her way into society – plus she is going to need someone to guide her as she prepares to enter it. Miss Greene would be the ideal person to do that, and both she and her nine-year-old charge would also provide Charlotte with regular company. He sends for Emilia and suggests they wager on a game of cards. If she wins, he will examine her evidence carefully and proceed with the claim – but she will owe him a favour (not that sort of favour!); if he wins, she will burn every scrap of evidence in her possession and he will settle five thousand pounds on Lucinda. Nervous, but determined, Emilia wagers. And wins.
What follows is a character-driven, slow-burn romance as Emilia and Lucy move into Nick’s household so that Emilia can act as governess to both girls, and the attraction that has been simmering between Nick and Emilia since they met starts to heat up. Nick learns more about Emilia’s background – that she’d left her family in order to avoid marriage to Lord Fitchley, a man widely reviled throughout society – and also that he’s the reason Emilia was so desperate to persuade Nick to claim the title, as the previous Lord Sydenham had named Fitchley as Lucy’s guardian. I liked Nick a great deal – he’s a thoroughly decent man who has cultivated a reputation for aloofness but who cares deeply for those closest to him, and Emilia is a great match for him; she’s brave, shrewd and clever and, like Nick, dedicated to doing the best she can for those she cares for. But the problem with both of them being so very nice is that the story depends entirely on external elements for conflict. There’s a little bit of ‘I can’t have her because she works for me’ on Nick’s part, and I was pleased at the way Emilia is so no-nonsense about removing any barriers to their relationship, but otherwise, it’s down to Fitchley to supply the drama. He makes a despicable villain and, thanks to Nick, meets more than his just desserts by the end, but while I’m no fan of the drama for drama’s sake, the lack of any real conflict in the romance made it difficult for me to completely invest in it.
Beverley A. Crick is someone I always enjoy listening to; her performances are always well-paced, expressive and strongly characterised, and she brings out the gentle humour in this story with a deft touch. Her portrayal of the two leads is excellent; her heroes always sound attractively masculine and I especially liked the way she conveys the desperation and vulnerability lying beneath Emilia’s no-nonsense exterior. Their deepening connection is nicely realised, with a real warmth in their exchanges and an undeniable affection coming through in Ms. Crick’s voice. The secondary cast is clearly differentiated and well portrayed, too – the nasal drawl she gives Fitchley makes him sound suitably villainous, and the two girls sound age-appropriate and are easy to tell apart. As always, Ms. Crick delivers on the emotional content of the story and crafts a beautifully nuanced performance overall.
Fortune Favors the Viscount is a charming, slow-burn love story that should be on the radar of any historical romance fan.
Caz
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