Every Wish Fulfilled

December 30, 1996
A heroine with eyes the color of wet violets and a dark, brooding hero can't quite rescue James's latest historical (after My Lord Conqueror). Damien Tremayne, Earl of Deverell, is searching for answers concerning the deaths of his brother and father. The trail leads to Heather Duval, whose natural father may have murdered both Tremaynes. Heather, who is lame, is mistress of Lockhaven, an estate deeded by her guardian, where Damien arrives conveniently to fill the position of manager. True to formulaic romance, the lovers' relationship is strongly written, but the plot has holes and secondary characters are sketchily drawn. There's some playing around with the modern concept of repressed memory-Damien wonders about Heather's "subconscious"-a jarringly anachronistic intrusion into a story set in 1835.