"You mean to warn me that he may continue to have mistresses, and orgies, and – and so-on, don’t you, sir?"
"Particularly so-on!" interpolated Damerel.
"Well, how should I know all the shocking things you do? ..."
"You’d know about my orgies!" objected Damerel. [p. 325]
Venetia Lanyon has been managing her reclusive father's household since the death of her mother when she was a small girl. Now twenty-five, she has never been further than Harrogate, and enjoys the company of her bookish younger brother Aubrey whilst anxiously awaiting the return of their elder brother, Conway, an officer in Wellington's army. Her suitors, commonplace Edward Yardley and would-be Byronic hero Oswald Denny, are persistent and thick-skinned: Venetia has no inclination towards either of them.
Then a notorious rake returns to the neighbourhood. Lord Damerel is infamous for having eloped with a married woman, broken his parents' hearts, dissipating his fortune, and 'devoted himself to the pursuit of all the more extravagant forms of diversion'. Indeed, Venetia's initial encounter with Damerel is not at all refined.
But the two become friends, and Damerel also takes Aubrey under his wing, to the dismay of the Lanyons' neighbours and well-wishers. But do they know the real Damerel? And does Venetia?
Venetia, in my opinion, has been treated shockingly by her family: gaslighting would be an anachronistic metaphor but she has certainly been lied to over an extended period of time. She handles a major revelation with grace and humour, and though she's misled by Damerel's heroic attempts to pretend disinterest, she eventually realises the truth and takes control of her future.
Seldom sentimental and often very funny: I find Heyer's novels pleasant recreations, especially when the real world is either metaphorically or actually gloomy.
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