"Charming little Regency!"
Our story begins in Sicily with the marriage of Lexia's
mother and the English Marquess of Rutherford, Edward. Of
course, the marriage was fated to be when Edward gave
Lexia's mother roses in the colors of pink, red, yellow and
white. Receiving permission to go and play before the
wedding, Lexia runs out of the house. Robert Weston, Edward's son, is on the Continent to be
present at his father's wedding to an Italian woman. Robert
has a friend with him. Unfortunately, he also hates
everything non-English. When the two of them finally find
the road to the villa where the marriage is to take place,
Robert is startled by a child falling out of a tree. Seeing
how brave this skinny little girl is by not crying, he
gives her the flowers a beggar woman forced him into
taking. Sadly, Robert knows nothing of "Fortuna" and the
flowers he gives the child are roses of four colors. Lexia now knows the man she is destined to marry. She is
ecstatic. Years pass and her mother forces her to marry an
old man to secure her future. Her stepfather passes and is
followed by her mother. Lexia is the guardian of her three
little siblings. Out of the blue, Robert Weston appears. He
intends on taking the children back to England with him in
order to raise them "properly". Of course, he is dumbstruck
when he finally recognizes the beautiful woman Lexia has
become. Will Robert take the children away from Lexia? Will she
ever see her siblings again? Will Robert and Lexia wed as
destined by Fortuna? THE CONTRARY CONTESSA is a charming little Regency, with a
twist. We also get the pleasure of learning a bit of
Italian culture with this one. Susanne Marie Knight has
done a wonderful job of blending the two cultures with the
typical results. The horror of the kitchen staff when a
member of the nobility enters to kitchen, and not only
enters it, but proceeds to cook and clean up! The
characters are believable, from Robert's dislike of
anything not English, to Lexia's passionate nature. I
really loved the character Zia Conchetta, Lexia's aunt.
Taciturn and quiet by nature, she still manages to make her
disapproval known. If you enjoy a good Regency as much as I
do, you don't want to miss this one! Posted September 21, 2004
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted December 6, 2006
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