This is one of Barbara Metzger's earliest novels. It offers some of the zany activities, droll secondary characters, and zippy dialogue that Metzger is known for. The plot is a little improbable but that hardly gets in the way of the fun.
Mis Lyndell Markham is a 24-year-old woman with a sharp tongue and a deep-seated weariness of the ton. So when her ne'er-do-well step-brother, Jasper Riddley, sends her the deed to a ne'er-do-well roadside inn, she decides to investigate. The only problem is that the inn is near her home and Lyndell is widely-known. Not to worry, Lyndell decides to go in disguise to investigate the spies that her brother tells her of (who made it too dangerous for Jasper to remain as the owner).
Lyndell really doesn't like her step-brother but she knows he is too stupid to be involved with spies. But Jasper is facing imprisonment (or worse) and he's gone into hiding. Lyndell is rather bored with the ton scene and decides to pursue the issues mentioned by her step-brother.
Unbeknownst to her, the Marquis of Cheyne, a war hero, lady's man, etc., has been sent to check on the reports of spies. Things don't go as planned for either party. Lyndell soon learns that unmarried parties use the inn as a meeting place for trysts. Lyndell's excuses for not allowing these lovers to have hotel rooms are very amusing. There's lots of gentle humor and fun.
Mis Lyndell Markham is a 24-year-old woman with a sharp tongue and a deep-seated weariness of the ton. So when her ne'er-do-well step-brother, Jasper Riddley, sends her the deed to a ne'er-do-well roadside inn, she decides to investigate. The only problem is that the inn is near her home and Lyndell is widely-known. Not to worry, Lyndell decides to go in disguise to investigate the spies that her brother tells her of (who made it too dangerous for Jasper to remain as the owner).
Lyndell really doesn't like her step-brother but she knows he is too stupid to be involved with spies. But Jasper is facing imprisonment (or worse) and he's gone into hiding. Lyndell is rather bored with the ton scene and decides to pursue the issues mentioned by her step-brother.
Unbeknownst to her, the Marquis of Cheyne, a war hero, lady's man, etc., has been sent to check on the reports of spies. Things don't go as planned for either party. Lyndell soon learns that unmarried parties use the inn as a meeting place for trysts. Lyndell's excuses for not allowing these lovers to have hotel rooms are very amusing. There's lots of gentle humor and fun.
