The Paid Companion

Author: Amanda Quick
Published: May 2004 (Putnam)
Category: Historical Romance/Suspense
Rating: 10/10

This has to be my favorite Amanda Quick title. It was sitting in my TBR pile forever. I was so foolish to put off for so long, and I was really sad when it was over.

Elenora Lodge has been kicked out of her home. Her stepfather has squandered her inheritance on an investment scam and he died of an apoplexy when he discovered he'd been swindled. She sets off for London with the master plan of going into trade, opening her own book circulation shop. All she has to do is become a lady's companion to build up some capital. Easier said than done.

Arthur Lancaster, Earl of St. Merryn is well known for his keen investments and his cold nature. His betrothed ran away with another man, and he didn't chase after them. Instead, he lounged in his club and played cards for most of the night (and won, to boot). He made a comment in passing that night, saying that the next time he sought a bride, he would go to an agency providing ladies' companions, because all the qualities in a good wife would be found in a lady's companion, and he'd have the ability to interview her without all the dancing about required in a traditional courtship. After a year, this comment has faded away, but Arthur is now in need of a wife.

In order to investigate the mysterious death of his uncle, Arthur has to be in London during the Season, but doesn't want to deal with the matchmaking mamas and their grasping daughters, eager to snap up an earl. He figures he's got to get someone to act as his fiancée and therefore deflect the attention of the marriage mart. Of course, none of the mousy companions he interviews are good enough. Then Elenora comes barreling through the door, complaining about her days interviews with drunkards and lecherous men. She's the one.

Despite being the practical and levelheaded man he's known to be, Arthur can't resist the attraction to smart and refreshing Elenora. Even though she's pretending to be his betrothed, she cares for his household (able to conveniently reside there because a widowed cousin of Arthur's is in residence as well, and in on the charade), even defending lower servants from a scheming butler. This butler attempts to blackmail Elenora with his knowledge that she's a hired companion, not a real fiancée. She stands up to him and trusts that Arthur will take her side, which of course, he does. Because he's smart and wonderful. He is a logical man and Elenora is a logical woman. No ridiculous blackmail episodes in this book!

Arthur slowly realizes that he truly picked well at the agency when Elenora shares her opinions on his investigation into his uncle's death. When they're alone, either driving through Hyde Park, or conversing in the library in the evening, they have lovely conversations and the banter is amusing. Some ravishing goes on, but the sweet part is, Arthur tries proposing to Elenora for real later, and she tells him he doesn't have to marry a penniless fake when he has his pick of the Season's finest misses. He tells her he knew she was the one the day he saw her in the agency and he wouldn't have ravished her unless he intended to marry her. And the ton already thinks he's weird, so he should do something unconventional in selecting his wife anyways. Awwww.

The background to the romance is the murder investigation. Quick ties in people from Arthur's past, including the woman who jilted him. She and her husband become pawns in the murderer's game. Of course, Elenora gets kidnapped and Arthur rescues her. Oh, and the murderer is trying to build a laser in an underground laboratory. Minor details. Something to do with alchemy.

To me, this was the perfect romance novel. Good story, good dialogue, not vapid, and highly entertaining.