The Cad

Features

• Cover Type: Mass Market Paperback with 368 pages
• Published by: HarperTorch August 5, 1998
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0061087068
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0061087066
• Book Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 5.9 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
The impoverished, genteel Bridget Cooke knows her place. As a companion for her gorgeous cousin Cecily, she is to be modest, inconspicuous. And with the obvious scar across her face, no one ever does notice her?at least until the catch of the season, Ewen, Viscount Sinclair, not only notices but asks her to be his mistress. Bridget refuses, so Ewen goes the next step and asks for her hand. When auntie?who has her eye on the rakish viscount for Cecily?learns of the proposal, Bridget is tossed out of the house and forced to accept Ewen's proposal. A rather tawdry wedding is followed by an idyllic fortnight until Ewen is called away on the Regent's work. Left alone, Bridget is prey to her own misgivings and society's doubt that the two could possibly be married. Layton's (Bound by Love) story gets off to a delightful start, but then falters; the small confusions and suspicions that follow Ewen's departure could have easily been cleared up and the fact that they are not just grates.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Under the Covers


"Titillating, dangerous and irresistiblefull of passion and plot twists that I could never have imagined. Brava, Ms. Layton!"

Reader Reviews
I'm so glad I started reading Edith Layton's novels! This is the first longer one I've read, and I enjoyed it so much. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series! Bridget is the archtypal 'poor relation', passed around from family to family among her many relations. At present she is acting as companion to her beautiful cousin Cecily; she was considered suitable, her aunt tells her, because of the contrast between her and her cousin. Because Bridget, though beautiful in profile, has a very visible flaw once she turns to look at someone properly: she has a deep, jagged two-inch scar on her face, just beside her mouth. She's very conscious of the scar, and is deliberately self-effecing as a result, hating to be stared at. But one evening, at a ball, someone does stare at her, and she makes the mistake of staring back. He is Ewen, Viscount Sinclair, a known rake. And, living up to his reputation, he follows her, gets her alone and offers her carte blanche. She refuses, but he engineers another time alone with her and offers again. When she refuses this time, he offers marriage. Her relatives assure her that he couldn't possibly have meant it, that he might pretend to want to marry her but will simply seduce her instead. And since she refuses to believe them, they throw her out. With nowhere to go, she flees to Ewen, putting her trust in him. We're told bits and pieces about Ewen along the way: that he has been married before but hates to talk about it, that he spent many years spying for the British government on the Continent, and that he used the cover of rakish activities in order to fulfill his missions. And he certainly has been a rake; the expectation of his friends on meeting Bridget is that she is his latest mistress. But he marries her. Then, not long after the wedding, he abandons her in the country house he'd taken her to - and where he also used to take his mistresses - and goes back to London. It is at this point that the question of whether he is a cad or not comes about. Has he, as Bridget wants to believe, been honest with her about everything - including the fact of their marriage? Or has he been playing a game with her and has now abandoned her, as the servants, Ewan's cousin Drummond and the knowing street-urchin Gilly would have her believe? Find out for yourself in this very touching, poignant love story! Comment | | (Report this)