The Wicked Wyckerly
The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice 2010 Regency 1807
Rice brings a unique twist to a Regency romance. John Fitzhugh Wickerly has inherited the Earl of Danecroft title and all its debts. He escapes the manor and heads to London but checks on his five-year-old illegitimate daughter, Penelope. Finding her governess lacking, he takes her with him only to be put off the coach at the modest home of Abigail Merryweather, 24, who lost custody of her four young siblings because she is a woman. She helps quiet hellion Penelope and allows Fitz to sleep in the cottage not realizing he is an earl.
Fitz has skill with numbers and wagers three young men from the village to do his chores. He is about to leave to claim a horse he won and use it to help get out of debt when Abigail’s relative’s widow, Isabell Hoyt, Dowager Marchiness of Belden, arrives to give her an inheritance. Isabell has made a wager with Fitz’s friend Lord Quentin about marriage, and they will help and interfere with Fitz and Abigail’s lives.
Most Regency novels have a rake, and Fitz fits the bill, but his love for his daughter, and his admiration and love for Abigail and her four siblings redeem him over and over again. Think of the many “baby” stories where a cowboy is a single father looking for a wife and mother to his child. Abigail also must decide if her inheritance should be spent on gowns to trap a husband who can help her gain custody of her siblings or pay a solicitor.
Normally the hero is rich, titled, and handsome, but Fitz is penniless and must use his wits to keep ahead of the creditors outside his door. He also has to find his heir, who is acting peculiar as well as deal with someone throwing rocks at his head and leaving strange notes.
Rice combines humor and witty dialogue to make her characters come alive. Her characters are charming, intelligent, and discover something about themselves from their better halves. The action keeps increasing as the reader moves toward the end of the story, and all the loose ends are tied up.
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