SummaryHIS LADY FAIR will be released on February
1, 2002. It is the story of Maria Burton, who spends all her
life in servitude, believing she is the bastard child of a
disgraced noblewoman. She learns that she is actually the
legitimate daughter of the Duke of Sterlyng, and runs away
from her dreary existence to find him.
En route to Sterlyng's estate, she is waylaid by Nicholas
Hawken, Marquis of Kirkham, who is fiercely attracted to
her.
Nicholas appears as a worthless, dissipated nobleman. In
reality, he is a very competent spy in the employ of the
Duke of
Bedford, the man conducting the war against France.
Clandestinely, Nicholas gathers information for Bedford and
either acts on the information himself, or passes it on to
the
duke. Nicholas Hawken is ruthless and daring, yet utterly
believable as a profligate nobleman. He suspects the Duke of
Sterlyng of passing sensitive information to the French,
but he
needs hard evidence. Sidetracked by Maria, but unaware that
she
is Sterlyng's daughter, he seduces her. Maria quickly
realizes
their interlude means nothing to Nicholas. She runs away,
certain that he is a scoundrel.
Maria is reunited with her father, who is ecstatic to find
her
again, when he had been led to believe that she had died at
birth. Sterlyng takes Maria to London and decides to allow
her
to choose her own husband. Nicholas locates her in town and
decides that the perfect ploy will be to act as one of
Maria's
suitors while he pursues the evidence he needs to hang
Sterlyng
as a traitor. However, he falls in love with Maria.
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