The Cad

August 31, 1998
The impoverished, genteel Bridget Cooke knows her place. As a companion for her beautiful cousin Cecily, she is to be modest, inconspicuous. And with the obvious scar across her face, no one ever does notice her--at least until the catch of the season, Ewen, Viscount Sinclair, not only notices but asks her to be his mistress. Bridget refuses, so Ewen goes the next step and asks for her hand. When auntie--who has her eye on the rakish viscount for Cecily--learns of the proposal, Bridget is tossed out of the house and forced to accept Ewen's proposal. A rather tawdry wedding is followed by an idyllic fortnight until Ewen is called away on the Regent's work. Left alone, Bridget is prey to her own misgivings and society's doubt that the two could possibly be married. Layton's (Bound by Love) story gets off to a delightful start, but then falters; the small confusions and suspicions that follow Ewen's departure could have easily been cleared up and the fact that they are not just grates.