More Than A Mistress. Mary Balogh

More Than A Mistress
Mary Balogh
Published: Brilliance Audio
Date: 2011. First published 2000.
Format: Audiobook
Length: 11hours 46 minutes
Narrator: Rosalyn Landor
Source: Own book

She raced onto the green, desperate to stop a duel. In the mêlée, Jocelyn Dudley, Duke of Tresham, was shot. To his astonishment, Tresham found himself hiring the servant as his nurse. But Jane Ingleby was far too bold for her own good. Her blue eyes were the sort a man could drown in - were it not for her impudence. She questioned his every move, breached his secrets, touched his soul. When he offered to set her up in his London town house, love was the last thing on his mind.

Jane tried to pretend it was strictly business, an arrangement she was forced to accept in order to conceal a dangerous secret. Surely there was nothing more perilous than being the lover of such a man. Yet as she got past his devilish façade and saw the noble heart within, she knew the greatest jeopardy of all, a passion that drove her to risk everything on one perfect month with the improper gentleman who thought love was for fools.

More Than a Mistress was first published in 2000 and Brilliance Audio published it in 2011.  This book has sat for many, many, months - like 24 months in my audio library.  It was one of those books I bought with a free $10 bonus when you buy 4 in a month at Audible.  What a pity that I left it so long.  It turned out to be a very enjoyable listen.  Rosalyn Landor does an excellent job of narrating the book - I am sure that is why I found it so pleasurable.  Her voices for the various characters are excellent.

On the one hand there is Jane, supposedly responsible for murder and theft, on the run from her pursuers and the Bow Street runners.  She becomes the nurse of the Duke of Tresham when he is injured in a duel.  Eventually she becomes his mistress and the relationship develops from there. Of course Jane is a bit of a mystery and she is more than she tries to portray. She is a feisty, outspoken heroine, and can always be relied on to solve the problems that come her way.

Jocelyn, the Duke of Tresham is your usual hoity-toity Duke.  He is drawn to Jane and he finds himself developing an intimacy with her that he has never experienced before.  So much so that he shares with her things he has never shared before.  However he feels let down and is very upset when he finds out that Jane has not been as forthcoming with him as she might.  

My favourite word in this book was 'hauteur'.  The Duke was forever being described with this word in varying ways.  I wish I had been counting them.  I did enjoy it.

Naturally everything works towards a happy ending, as such books are expected to do.  However before that happy ending is reached there is time for Jocelyn and Jane to work out their grievances with each other, and reach a satisfactory conclusion.  All very entertaining and engaging, witty and well written.

I am not a huge reader of historical regency romance - sometimes I find they drag a little.  I wasn't bored one bit by this one.  This is the first in a trilogy.  I will eventually listen to the next two.