Delta Moonfire
Delta Moonfire by Linda Windsor 1992 Kensington Publishing
This story has a lot of things going on in it with a Pygmalion theme of an older man turning a street urchin into a lady, secret identities, a lost inheritance, and an act of revenge. With so much going on, the story loses its focus even though the author ties everything up at the nail-biting end.
Erin Devereau is the daughter of Giselle Asante Devereau. Her husband Jacques was in a duel, accused of firing first, and joined the war and never returned home. Giselle had to work for saloon and brothel owner Horsley. She runs his business but has to accept his unwanted advances to protect Erin from him. She became ill and has been in New Orleans for six months, leaving Erin in the slums of Natchez-Under-The-Hill.
Dressed as a boy, Erin and her friend Cready earn money by playing the shell game. Cready picks the pocket of wealthy Jackson Tyler, who owns the Delta Moon, which he won from Horsley. Giselle once saved him from a beating at the saloon, and she has made him guardian of Erin. He breaks the news to Erin that Giselle is dead and takes her aboard the Delta Moon. Always dreaming about owning a paddle boat, Erin wants to learn everything there is about the boat. He hires a tutor, Sturgis, who keeps touching Erin secretly. He’d s a sleaze, and I had to wonder shy Erin didn’t tell on him or that others never noticed his behavior.
Jackson uses soap in her mouth to break Erin of swearing and buys some dresses for her. His partner, John Davenport, takes an interest in the necklace her mother gave her. When they reach New Orleans, Erin looks up her family. Aunt Lydia tries not to identify her but her elderly mother, Marie, thinks she is Giselle. Erin and Marie work out a plan to travel on the Delta Moon. She secretly makes Erin her heir before boarding and sends the will to Jackson’s home, Retreat.
Someone plants missing jewelry and silverware in Erin’s room to set her up as a thief. Horsley arrives claiming Giselle made him guardian of Erin. When her grandmother dies, John disappears. A body is found that Jackson identifies through Erin’s locket he had taken.
Jackson and Erin are at each other’s throats with their stubbornness, but they are attracted to each other. Jackson plans to turn her into a lady and find a husband for her. He doesn’t believe her when she accuses a man of cheating at cards and puts her in danger more than once because he won’t trust her. She tries to solve her own problems with Horsley and gets into deeper trouble. The danger increases as the past catches up with the characters in the story.
This is a romance where the two characters never court one another. Jackson makes Erin unhappy but never suffers for it. When something bad happens, it needs to be balanced by more than a few lines excusing the behavior, angry words, or emotional torment. Too often Alpha males escape unscathed with a few moments of worry, and they always win the girl no matter how badly they’ve treated her. I’d like to see them try a little harder, especially in this one.
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#Romance #Historical #Windsor
