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The Duke's Messenger
Elinor Aspinall is left languishing in London when her intended bridegroom, Lord Foxhall, deserts her for diplomatic duties in Vienna.Elinor knows all too well that her bitter rival, Penelope Freeland, is conveniently in that romantic city and all too eager to keep Foxhall company when his working days turn into glittering soirees.So when she is offered the task of carrying a highly confidential document from England to Austria, she leaps at the chance to reclaim her beloved.Little does she realise what she is about to embark on.A harrowing journey, shadowed by a frightful enemy she cannot see — and protected only by an outrageously attractive man of mystery named Reeves.It is indeed, very peculiar when Reeves, who refers to himself as her humble servant, acts more and more like her arrogant master …Questions needed answers and Elinor has none…What was in the document that Elinor carried and that she had vowed to guard at all costs — and which someone wanted badly enough to kill for?What was wrong with the heart that Elinor had rapturously given to the maddeningly handsome Lord Foxhall — but that now quickened so disturbingly when the gruffly attractive, not-to-be-trusted Reeves came too close for comfort?What awaited Elinor in Vienna, where she is faced in a duel of wit and wile with a beautiful society vixen — and yet another kind of struggle within herself?‘The Duke’s Messenger’ is a thrilling Regency romance.
220 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 13, 2020
Once upon a time, I used to devour Regency romances, but think I must have overloaded on phaetons, pianofortes and post-chaise(s), so that now I dip into the genre relatively infrequently. On this occasion, in the spirit of rarely reading anything published after 1982, I opted for 'The Dukes Messenger' by Vanessa Gray.
Firstly, I don't know what the editors at Signet publishing settled on as their word limit in the early 1980's, but even for a historical romance, this novel is l-o-n-g. I think partially it's the book's length, 219 pages of close type-font, that results in a rather cumbersome story-line. Additionally, the plot contains a number of holes although, thankfully, relatively small ones (more akin to little nibbles by a moth at an old jumper, rather than cavities of a size that suggest crochet).
And so, with that said, onto the story itself...
'The Duke's Messenger' opens with heroine, Elinor Aspinall swooning over the handsome, divinely blonde and very eligible Lord Foxhall, whom she's met during her first London Season. Her chaperone, Lady Sanford doesn't think her niece has even a rank outsiders chance of 'catching' Lord Foxhall, who is expected to wed the rather managing Penelope Freeland. However, Elinor's luck is in; tired of being 'bossed' by Miss Freeland, Foxhall finds Elinor's evident adoration as they (daringly) waltz at a few balls a balm to his manly soul and resolves he'll propose to her instead of Penelope. When Lord Foxhall requests a 'private interview' with her, Elinor is over the moon.
The heroine's Aunt, Lady Sanford, at first incredulous her niece has managed to 'snare' Foxhall, is naturally prepared to countenance the match, but (and this is the snag) Lord 'by the book' Foxhall insists he must seek Elinor's elder brother's permission before paying his addresses. Learning this, Elinor nearly howls with frustration. Her errant elder brother, Tom, frequently disappears for long stretches and has recently done another of his vanishing acts . Unfortunately for Elinor, Lord Foxhall, a rising young diplomat, has been summonsed to Vienna for a peace conference and cannot wait around for Tom to put in an appearance. Amplifying Elinor's chagrin, is the fact that Penelope Freeland, as the daughter of an important diplomat, will also be in Vienna for the Conference.
What then is a young lady with a mad crush on her not-quite-yet-fiancee to do? In Elinor's case, the 'obvious' answer is to procure a top-secret package - intended by the newly succeeded Duke of Whern for her brother's hands - and in the absent Tom's stead, convey the sensitive missive to Lord Castlereagh in Vienna. That her brother was appointed by the Duke of Whern to undertake the mission doesn't weigh too heavily with Elinor. She manages to persuade Lady Sanford that they should set out for Vienna immediately; telling her Aunt that Tom, once he receives her missive advising of their plans, will doubtless follow.
It's no surprise that two wealthy English ladies travelling with only a handful of servants through the French countryside where destitute soldiers and Napoleonic sympathisers wander at large, quickly find themselves in trouble. In fact Elinor and Lady Sanford don't even make it out of Calais before they lose two of their servants, including their coachman, in a quayside scuffle. Fortunately for the heroine and her Aunt, an itinerant Englishman by the name of Reeves promptly presents himself and offers to take the injured coachman's place. Unsure of Reeves credentials (he claims to be an ex-army man and sometime fisherman) and wary of his un-subservient manner, Elinor reluctantly agrees that he can drive them as far as Paris. Once in the French capital, however, she intends to hire a less unsettling coachman in the place of Reeves.
However, to Elinor's surprise she finds Reeves quite indispensable, particularly when the top-secret package is stolen during their overnight stay at a chateau and he assists her with a spot of house-breaking to recover it. By this juncture, Elinor has unbent toward her coachman to the extent that she allows him clandestine kisses. That she should behave in such a way with her stocky servant, when she's 'madly in love' with the impeccable Lord Foxhall, is something that troubles Elinor but she resolves that its unusual circumstances that account for her 'unladylike' behaviour.
While the author contends that Elinor is 'more intelligent than the average well-bred miss - somehow the heroine fails to deduce, even as they approach the Austrian border, that Reeves is not really a servant. This is, notwithstanding that he: (i) routinely forgets to address Elinor as his superior (the 'Miss' is tacked on casually if remembered in time); (ii) speaks fluent French and German; (iii) makes historical and Classical analogies and (iv) when brother Tom finally catches them up, appears to be acquainted with him. (To say that Elinor is obtuse is probably being somewhat generous...)
In the event, by the time the travelling party arrives in Vienna, Reeves is recovering from being set upon by bandits, the still-coquettish Lady Sanford has snagged herself an Archduke for a fiancee, and for Elinor the realisation has dawned that life as 'Lady Foxhall' would be too proper and too pedestrian for her liking. After delivering her secret parcel to Lord Castlereagh, Elinor throws over Foxhall, who her brother refers to as a 'posturing nonentity'. She's decided instead to embark on a life of disrepute with her coachman - if he'll have her. To throw over convention, however, is a daunting prospect and Elinor is feeling very torn about it when she attends the ball given in her Aunt's honour by her Archduke beau. It's at the Ball that (surprise, surprise) there is a **grand reveal** involving 'Reeves'. Needless to say, all's well that ends well .
In summary, 'The Duke's Messenger' is long winded read, but one that in places is sufficiently entertaining to merit a three-star vintage regency romance rating. I'd try the author again, but would probably be more likely to favour a regency novel from one of her contemporaries like Mira Stables or Catherine Fellows.
Firstly, I don't know what the editors at Signet publishing settled on as their word limit in the early 1980's, but even for a historical romance, this novel is l-o-n-g. I think partially it's the book's length, 219 pages of close type-font, that results in a rather cumbersome story-line. Additionally, the plot contains a number of holes although, thankfully, relatively small ones (more akin to little nibbles by a moth at an old jumper, rather than cavities of a size that suggest crochet).
And so, with that said, onto the story itself...
'The Duke's Messenger' opens with heroine, Elinor Aspinall swooning over the handsome, divinely blonde and very eligible Lord Foxhall, whom she's met during her first London Season. Her chaperone, Lady Sanford doesn't think her niece has even a rank outsiders chance of 'catching' Lord Foxhall, who is expected to wed the rather managing Penelope Freeland. However, Elinor's luck is in; tired of being 'bossed' by Miss Freeland, Foxhall finds Elinor's evident adoration as they (daringly) waltz at a few balls a balm to his manly soul and resolves he'll propose to her instead of Penelope. When Lord Foxhall requests a 'private interview' with her, Elinor is over the moon.
The heroine's Aunt, Lady Sanford, at first incredulous her niece has managed to 'snare' Foxhall, is naturally prepared to countenance the match, but (and this is the snag) Lord 'by the book' Foxhall insists he must seek Elinor's elder brother's permission before paying his addresses. Learning this, Elinor nearly howls with frustration. Her errant elder brother, Tom, frequently disappears for long stretches and has recently done another of his vanishing acts . Unfortunately for Elinor, Lord Foxhall, a rising young diplomat, has been summonsed to Vienna for a peace conference and cannot wait around for Tom to put in an appearance. Amplifying Elinor's chagrin, is the fact that Penelope Freeland, as the daughter of an important diplomat, will also be in Vienna for the Conference.
What then is a young lady with a mad crush on her not-quite-yet-fiancee to do? In Elinor's case, the 'obvious' answer is to procure a top-secret package - intended by the newly succeeded Duke of Whern for her brother's hands - and in the absent Tom's stead, convey the sensitive missive to Lord Castlereagh in Vienna. That her brother was appointed by the Duke of Whern to undertake the mission doesn't weigh too heavily with Elinor. She manages to persuade Lady Sanford that they should set out for Vienna immediately; telling her Aunt that Tom, once he receives her missive advising of their plans, will doubtless follow.
It's no surprise that two wealthy English ladies travelling with only a handful of servants through the French countryside where destitute soldiers and Napoleonic sympathisers wander at large, quickly find themselves in trouble. In fact Elinor and Lady Sanford don't even make it out of Calais before they lose two of their servants, including their coachman, in a quayside scuffle. Fortunately for the heroine and her Aunt, an itinerant Englishman by the name of Reeves promptly presents himself and offers to take the injured coachman's place. Unsure of Reeves credentials (he claims to be an ex-army man and sometime fisherman) and wary of his un-subservient manner, Elinor reluctantly agrees that he can drive them as far as Paris. Once in the French capital, however, she intends to hire a less unsettling coachman in the place of Reeves.
However, to Elinor's surprise she finds Reeves quite indispensable, particularly when the top-secret package is stolen during their overnight stay at a chateau and he assists her with a spot of house-breaking to recover it. By this juncture, Elinor has unbent toward her coachman to the extent that she allows him clandestine kisses. That she should behave in such a way with her stocky servant, when she's 'madly in love' with the impeccable Lord Foxhall, is something that troubles Elinor but she resolves that its unusual circumstances that account for her 'unladylike' behaviour.
While the author contends that Elinor is 'more intelligent than the average well-bred miss - somehow the heroine fails to deduce, even as they approach the Austrian border, that Reeves is not really a servant. This is, notwithstanding that he: (i) routinely forgets to address Elinor as his superior (the 'Miss' is tacked on casually if remembered in time); (ii) speaks fluent French and German; (iii) makes historical and Classical analogies and (iv) when brother Tom finally catches them up, appears to be acquainted with him. (To say that Elinor is obtuse is probably being somewhat generous...)
In the event, by the time the travelling party arrives in Vienna, Reeves is recovering from being set upon by bandits, the still-coquettish Lady Sanford has snagged herself an Archduke for a fiancee, and for Elinor the realisation has dawned that life as 'Lady Foxhall' would be too proper and too pedestrian for her liking. After delivering her secret parcel to Lord Castlereagh, Elinor throws over Foxhall, who her brother refers to as a 'posturing nonentity'. She's decided instead to embark on a life of disrepute with her coachman - if he'll have her. To throw over convention, however, is a daunting prospect and Elinor is feeling very torn about it when she attends the ball given in her Aunt's honour by her Archduke beau. It's at the Ball that (surprise, surprise) there is a **grand reveal** involving 'Reeves'. Needless to say, all's well that ends well .
In summary, 'The Duke's Messenger' is long winded read, but one that in places is sufficiently entertaining to merit a three-star vintage regency romance rating. I'd try the author again, but would probably be more likely to favour a regency novel from one of her contemporaries like Mira Stables or Catherine Fellows.
October 2, 2022
Brilliant Oct 2022
My only criticism is the monumental amount of spelling mistakes which at times were extremely distracting. Otherwise a rather exciting read
My only criticism is the monumental amount of spelling mistakes which at times were extremely distracting. Otherwise a rather exciting read
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews