Finished Scandalous Love

It was a slight tear-jerker, but not to the point that I started bawling my eyes out like some other books.  This is a rarity, even more so since I've become jaded at reading these kinds of books.  I think I ended up sleeping at 3:00something AM because of this, but I don't regret it.  Anyway I finally got my sleep this afternoon.



So what happened is that Hadrian proposed to Nicole out of propriety (since he took her virginity and all) and she refuses him.  Later on, he meets with her father, Lord Shelton, and explains the situation thoroughly, which pretty much makes his hands tied, Nicole's hands tied, basically everyone's hands tied.  With Elizabeth barely dead, this is sure to cause a scandal, isn't it?

Yes, it does.  No matter how much Hadrian intended to show everyone that he was "besotted" with Nicole, she refused to play the part of a young girl madly in love.  They marry within two weeks, and Hadrian invites like, 1000 people, including Queen Victoria.  What a spectacle Hadrian and Nicole made.  Nic was just NOT having it.  She didn't hide any rage or anger, and it became apparent to everyone that Hadrian, being so "in love" as he claimed, was the butt of many jokes that season.

They leave their wedding reception decidedly early because neither of the two is having fun.  After being shown to her rooms at Clayborough Hall (they get out of town into another of Hadrian's residences), Nicole locks herself in to prevent Hadrian from coming in, but he's got a key anyway and he wants to enjoy his wedding night.

What kinda bugs me (irritation is too rough a word to describe my feelings) is that whenever Hadrian and Nicole get it on, he says that "this is how they suit."  Really?  REALLY?  Is that all your relationship with Nicole is, based on fucking around?  She tries to hide her pleasure but Hadrian says he "knows" her because of her reaction from having sex.

Okay, MOST people get that reaction from having sex.  Unless it's the unpleasant sort in which I won't even talk about it.

During her stay as the new Duchess of Clayborough, Hadrian initially tells Nicole that she can do whatever she wants.  So, not knowing what an actual Duchess does, she dresses pretty much in the best gowns - way too damn formal, and I don't think she exactly feels comfortable in them.  Eventually she goes back to wearing less formal clothes and even goes to her riding breeches.

Here's the conflict that gets expected in the book (besides Stacy Worthington being quite the antagonist who was also trying to get to Hadrian even though Elizabeth is her cousin...and now that she's dead, she thinks she's got a hold on Hadrian too) : When Nicole goes out riding with the stable hand, who's pretty much an old guy, they get accosted by a group of three guys who intend to kill the old man and rape Nicole.

Of course, this doesn't happen, although the old man gets seriously injured.  Hadrian's furious with her, so he pretty much scolds her and tells her to act like a real duchess.  He leaves for London without even telling her, and this is where Stacy next comes in.  She visits, unwelcomely, and tells Nicole that Hadrian just went to visit his mistress.  Nicole couldn't believe that he kept the woman on, though she should've suspected it.

She leaves for who knows how long, and stays with her friends, the Viscount/Viscountess Serles.  Hadrian gets her back, in a brutish way, after a convincing from his mother that he should pretty much get his wife back.  So when he arrives at the Serles', he goes up to Nicole's room and just pretty much kidnaps her in her nightgown, has her slung over his shoulder, and borrows a coach from the Serles'.  Nicole's sleeping, yet she's cradled in Hadrian's arms so in her sleep, she confesses aloud that she doesn't really hate him and that she loves him.

Oh and here's a kicker for a subplot: Hadrian's real daddy is NOT the former Duke of Clayborough.  He's pretty much a bastard child, and his dad's from America, Boston to be exact.  This initial shock that he received from his mom spurred him to track him down and write a letter.  SOOOO this guy (Hadrian Stone, yes, Hadrian is named after his birth father) comes all the way to England just to meet his son.  He's at first mad at Isobel for keeping this secret from him all these years but they fall in love and plan to get married, at their ages of 50 and 60.

Umm...the end?

I feel like this book was a bit anticlimactic.  Besides the possibility of a child being the reason for Hadrian and Nicole to marry so early, there's no mention of an actual pregnancy by the end.  Let's recap.  They meet at a ball.  She's never heard of him before, but falls for him in an instant.  They flirt, and then realize that neither of them are what they seem.  So they purposefully flirt with each other - but their way of flirting is by trying to best one another.

Hadrian has his fiancee who barely shows up.  Elizabeth was trying to be a friend to Nicole, and then she just dies pretty quickly, leaving Hadrian in a rage thinking that Nicole's gonna try to get with him now, though she refuses.  Of course, it doesn't help that deep down she's in love with him, so in his grief, she tries to help him, and they do the nasty.  Great.

The book pretty much wouldn't be Scandalous Love without a scandal, though I can't picture inviting 1000 people to a wedding.  Guess when you have money in those days, image and social standing is everything.

Duh.  This is Victorian society.