The Earl's Intended Wife

Rating:
Summary: Lost the plot
Review: Hebe Carlton lives on the island of Malta with her stepmother, who is engaged to be married to an army officer. She imagines herself to be very ordinary and not at all pretty, the type of girl every young man likes - but as a younger sister and confidante.
Enter Major Alex Beresford, every inch the young lady's dream. Their first meeting is fraught with wrong impressions, but Hebe realizes her error. He is not arrogant, but exhausted and indeed seems to be some kind of army agent.
They are mutually attracted and meet again. All seems set fine for a romance and a passionate kiss on a balcony is exchanged. Then Alex receives a letter from England, it is an acceptance by a lady to his proposal of some months ago. The romance is shattered.
Both are full of mistaken feelings and misunderstandings. Then Hebe sails for England with her newly married stepmother. Alex of course is on the same ship.
Alas the ship is engulfed by a storm and the whole tale is wrenched off course. Hebe, for all her prior good sense, goes up on deck and she and Alex are swept overboard.
The tale never recovers.
In fact it gets worse. I did not think it possible, but each page just increased the velocity of its descent.
Alex is ill, they walk for miles in a suspiciously short time, they hide in a oddly handy hut of Alex's for his missions, a French troop somehow arrives...
Alex and Hebe were very good characters and they also seem to descend into the cardboard realms.
Such a shame, but the story was ruined by bad melodrama.