Secret Splendor

Rating:
Summary: This author doesn't seem easy to find
Review: I've never seen another novel by Gillenwater, but after reading Secret Splendor I wish I had.

Lady Lora Barrington is being menaced by her lecherous and greedy cousin Norval following her father's death. Hoping to keep the fastidious lord at bay, Lora goes "insane." Unable and unwilling to deal with a woman who makes (and serves) mud pies, Norval blackmails Tyler Martin to marry (and spy) on nutty Lady Lora.

Tyler, a self made man who raised himself from poverty to respectability, is well aware that a blue blooded lady is beyond his touch. However, he cannot resist the gleam in Lora's eye and is convinced she is quite sane (and quite canny) in her dealings with Norval.

Husband and wife soon become allies on a treasure hunt hoping to thwart the villain and finance their own dreams (and of course they fall in love in the process).

I really enjoyed the architect hero who had to drag himself up from Dicken's-like poverty to become something approaching a gentleman. And the "insane" heroine is lots of fun. The pair seem to have a nice rapport from the first. I consider this one a keeper (and in fact I have kept it for years now ).