The Governess Gambit
The Governess Gambit by Erica Ridley 2010 Regency
This is a prequel to The Wild Wynchesters series which follows the adventures of six orphans, now grown, to help those in need. This story shares the special talents of the Wynchester siblings taken in by Baron Vanderbean or Bean as he is known by his family.
Chloe, first taken in as a child, is now 28, and spies on Parliament through a vent in the ceiling to find out what legislation is being passed to help orphans and the poor. She has a crush on Lawrence Gosling, the Marquess of Lanbrooke, who is a champion of the poor.
His father, the Duke of Faircliffe, is a drunk and gambler who comes to Bean asking for money. He steals back a painting of Puck and six fairies which represents the family, hoping to sell it, but wrecks his carriage and dies.
Lawrence ignores their pleas to have the painting returned, especially when Bean becomes ill. This sets up the next book in which Chloe steals the painting. The rest of this story has Chloe taking a job at a school for girls which takes in orphans as free labor. She hopes to find proof of the lies and free the girls.
The story is short but includes a couple chapters from the next book which brings Chloe and Lawrence together in a typical Regency novel. Lawrence needs to marry a rich woman to pay off his father’s debts and restore his inheritance. Chloe dislikes him for ignoring her and her siblings. In the middle is Philippa, whose family is wealthy but has no title. How will they resolve their problems?
Most Regency novels follow a typical pattern of someone wealthy wanting love and someone poor needing money. Ridley adds social struggles to the stories of the ton. Chloe wants to help others the way Bean helped her. I would have liked more of that shown in the story. I wanted to get to know Chloe and her siblings more. Hopefully, the series will do that.
Ridley gave the barest of information: George can climb any structure, Jacob trains animals, Tommy or Thomasina is a master of disguises, Elizabeth can throw her voice, and Marjorie is an art forger. It is an interesting group and readers can look forward to the future adventures of the Wynchesters.
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