Marina Beaumont's family was in desperate straits, so she accepted the job as a companion to an older woman in London. The country girl had no idea what she was getting herself into. The older woman was Lady Luce, a notorious gambler who liked to wager high and often. Worse yet, the Lady's son demanded that Marina keep Lady Luce from gambling - or Marina would be sent packing back to Yorkshire. It didn't take long for Lady Luce to accrue a debt of 12,000 pounds to a mortal enemy, Kit Stratton. If Lady Luce's son found out Marina had failed, he would surely send her back to her family penniless. She somehow had to convince Kit, a notorious rake, to forgive Lady Luce's debt...and she'd do whatever it took!

Kit Stratton had lost big to Lady Luce once before and had been exiled to Austria after his older brother, Hugo, had bailed him out. Kit returned from Austria five years later, determined to exact revenge on Lady Luce, by turning the tables and letting her feel how it was to have an unpayable debt. The only problem was, Marina, Lady Luce's companion, was trying to convince him to forgive his debt - and his revenge on Lady Luce. He agrees to pardon the debt on one condition - Marina must come willingly to his bed. Will Marina take the chance of having her reputation ruined by this devilish rake to keep her position?

This book is a sequel to Joanna Maitland's "Marrying the Major," and I enjoyed this book. Hugo and Emma are both excellent secondary characters in this book, but the main focus is definitely on the turbulent and twisted world of London Society. I like Marina - not only was she no raving beauty (she was described as being rather plain, and was often called "the gray lady"), but she had enough spunk and determination for two or three heroines. I'm sorry to say, Kit was much less likeable. I didn't particularly care for him in "Marrying the Major," and I didn't particularly care for him in this book, either, although with age he did seem to gain a little more honorable behavior.

The plot was fast-moving and complicated, to be sure. Life with Lady Luce was never boring! So much time was spent on the plot, however, that love seemed to take a backseat in the book. Once love came into the picture, I thought to myself, where did that come from? I mean, I know it's a romance novel and love will pop up eventually, but there was little to no warning. Kit and Marina seemed to just spar with one another, and then suddenly she knew she was in love with him. Nor was there much passion in this book, either. Altogether, though, it was an enjoyable book, and worthy of four stars. It was definitely an interesting sequel to "Marrying the Major," but can also stand on its own.