Rake's Ransom

Author: Barbara Metzger
Published: January 2006 (Signet), 1st printing: January 1987 (Walker)
Category: Regency Romance
Rating: 9/10

Miss Jacelyn Trevayne is the apple of her father's eye, and the bane of her neighbor's existence, as Jacey has taken it upon herself to ruin every foxhunt possible. To teach her a lesson for her hoydenish ways, the neighbor, Squire Bottwick, arrests her dog Penelope for a period of three days. Jacey won't stand for that, so she decides to fight fire with fire, and kidnap the squire's nephew. Unfortunately, she kidnaps the wrong man. Instead of goofy Arthur Ponsonby, she kidnaps dashing Leigh Merrill, Earl of Claibourne. Since the squire didn't take Jacey's ransom note seriously, he didn't respond and Jacey and Leigh were together in a cottage for a few hours, thus compromising Jacey. Leigh, being an honorable gentleman, despite his rakely reputation, offers for her, even giving her a betrothal period in London so she can figure out if they'll suit, and even find someone better than an impoverished earl for a husband.

This is the funniest Metzger I've ever read. I was giggling from the first chapter, where Jacey's exploits in foiling the local hunts were detailed. There was an instance where she had a couple village boys gather dead fish and scatter them all over the place, and the most recent hunt had Jacey walking Penelope about the countryside while she was in heat, thus causing all the hunting dogs to go crazy.

While Leigh is escorting Jacey about town, we get these little moments where he shows that he has more than an honorable interest in marrying her. There's a moment in a modiste's shop where her newly hired stickler of an abigail is giving conflicting opinions about the decolletage of a gown, so Jacey marches out to Leigh and demands to know where a lady's gown should start and end, and Leigh finds himself staring at this bosom that's practically presented to him with blazing neon arrows screaming "LOOK AT THESE!!" He calmly tells her, "You'll have to decide, Miss Travaine. You'll be the one drawing attention... You have to consider whether you wish to be approved or admired." Jacey fires back that since he'll be escorting her, her choice would affect him, and Leigh says, "Tell me when you are going to wear it so I can buckle on my sabre to fight off all the smitten mooncalves." Swoon. I love that language. Smitten mooncalves indeed!

I felt like this book was more about society and all the intricate steps one must take to be accepted by the haute ton. Even though it's nothing new, I can't get enough of those little rituals, like morning calls and rides through Hyde Park at the fashionable hour. The rich descriptions and excellent made up for the anticlimactic romantic ending. I was just a little disappointed in how Jacey and Leigh wound up together, in one of those "Huh, that's it?" moments. But their happy ending is not the only one, as Jacey, ever considerate of her friends, plays matchmaker rather successfully, even for one of the villains (who turns out not to be villainous, just slightly stupid).

Great fun and I think this might be my favorite Metzger to date.