The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain is delightful stand-alone Regency novel. Arabella has been living with her unkind aunt who suddenly dies. She and her cousin Lady Isabella have been living secretly and comfortably for a year when they are summoned to a London Season by Lady Isabella's great aunt. They both decide to switch places and that is when things get interesting.
This was a sweet, funny and engaging read. I loved getting to know Arabella and Isabella and found myself rooting for the best for them. The characters were so interesting and I enjoyed peeling back the layers in the story. Visiting the Regency time period in London was fantastic while visiting the various sites about London. The story brought me joy.
I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.
Book Excerpt :The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right
by Suzanne Allain
Upon their arrival, the young women were ushered into an
opulent drawing room where Lady Dutton was waiting to greet them. Bella was
sorry that they were not even allowed the opportunity to refresh themselves
before meeting her and hoped the interview wouldn’t be a long one. But since
Lady Dutton stood at their entrance and didn’t invite them to sit, it appeared
as if their ordeal was to be brief.
Lady Dutton’s critical glance quickly passed over the three
young women before settling on the diminutive May.
“Who is this? She’s certainly not your governess; she looks
to be no more than a child. Who are you, girl?” Lady Dutton asked her.
“May- your- ladyship.” May was so overcome with fear at
addressing this august personage that the sentence came out in a hurried,
breathy whisper.
Lady Dutton did not deign to reply, but merely looked down
her nose at the lowly chambermaid in a silence that dragged on for an
excruciatingly long time, until poor little May was visibly shaking. Then,
finally, Lady Dutton asked: “May I what?”
To which question May was incapable of responding, merely
staring at Lady Dutton in confused terror while her mouth opened and closed
several times.
Lady Dutton turned in exasperation to Bella, whom she’d
obviously marked as the only conversable member of the group, and asked: “What
is wrong with the girl? Why can’t she finish her sentence?”
“She had finished. She was telling you her name. It’s ‘May,’
my lady,” Bella explained.
“Call me Aunt Lucretia, child,” Lady Dutton replied, and a
wave of relief washed over Bella. She’d never expected a relation of Lady
Strickland’s to treat her so graciously and had prepared herself to face
coldness, if not outright insults, so she was very pleased to be proven wrong
in her assumptions.
Now that Lady Dutton realized that the maid had merely been
giving her name, she quickly, albeit firmly, dismissed the girl, telling her
that she could stay for two days but was then to return with the coachman to
Oxfordshire. Bella was relieved that the question of the missing governess
appeared to have been forgotten. After May had gratefully left the room, still
trembling from her encounter with Lady Dutton, that lady turned to survey the
cousins, who moved closer to each other in an unconscious seeking of support.
“Why, you’re as alike as two peas in a pod,” she finally
said, before the silence had grown too ominous. “How does anyone tell you
apart?”
Bella and Issie looked at each other in surprise. There was
a superficial resemblance, to be sure. They both had blue eyes and brown hair,
but while Issie’s was a mousy brown, Bella’s was a darker, richer chestnut. And
while they were of a similar height, a little taller than average, Issie was
thinner and smaller- bosomed. Both girls were attractive, but Issie’s conventional
prettiness paled in comparison to Bella’s more striking appearance, as Bella’s
features were more defined; her lips fuller, her blue eyes a more vibrant hue,
and her complexion blooming with health. Only a woman who was nearsighted and
too vain to wear spectacles would ever think the two girls could pass for each
other.
But they had no desire to argue with the lady and allowed
her statement to go unchallenged, and she continued: “Though I’m sure I will
have no problem knowing who is who, as Isabelle is my dear niece’s daughter,
and blood is thicker than water, as the saying goes.” She seemed ready to bring
the interview to an end, and gestured to the door, where the housekeeper had
suddenly appeared. “You would probably like to refresh yourselves after your
long journey. Mrs. Lucas will show you to your rooms.” Before they could leave,
she turned to address Issie directly. “You are called Arabella, are you not?”
she asked, and the two girls stared back at her as witlessly as May had.
Bella, realizing that the lady had confused her and Issie
for each other, hurried to correct her. “Aunt Lucretia,” she said, before
pausing, as it had suddenly occurred to her that she’d been invited to call her
that because the lady thought she was Isabelle. Should she address her by her
title after all? Then she thought about how awkward it would be to correct Lady
Dutton when she’d just announced that the noble blood she and Issie shared
would create a special bond between them.
While Bella hesitated, Issie startled her by saying, very
clearly: “Yes, I am called Arabella.”
Excerpted from The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain Copyright © 2024 by Suzanne Allain. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Suzanne Allain is a screenwriter who lived in New York and Beijing before returning to her hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, where she lives with her husband
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