Heiress Without a Cause by Sara Ramsey

After the second intermission, there should have been many empty seats as theatre goers went off to other amusements. But according to Madame Legrand, the lead actress was such a success that she kept everyone until the end. The best they could do was stools near the stage.

"Madame Guerrier already rivals the best actresses of our time," she said as she accepted their money. "You are just in time, too. She is about to kill Claudius."

"She is playing Hamlet himself? Not Ophelia?" Ferguson asked.

~~~Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Heiress Without a Cause by Sara Ramsey

Madeleine,28,  is a spinster, believed to be firmly on the shelf. She always avoids the ball by feigning illness. She is not all resting as her aunt assumes! She is living in secret as an actress on the London stage and is one of the best. She knows her reputation would be in shreds if she is discovered. Ferguson sees her performing and wants her as his mistress unaware that it is Madeleine.  

Now William "Ferguson" Avenel has newly inherited the dukedom. He needs a  chaperon for his younger twin sisters for their first season. His first choice is Madeleine who he thinks is very proper. 

Ferguson is able to figure out about Madeleine's double life but he does not change his mind about her chaperoning his sisters. So he devises a plan...Everything seems to go well until an enemy from Ferguson's past come along and hellbent in destroying him and also Madeleine's reputation. 

I liked Ferguson's sisters. They are able to hold on their own. Ferguson seems be at loss as how to interact with them. His older sister Elise too is a person to reckon with. I liked this novel about strong characters females,  that too in a privileged English society when freedom was often denied to the females, even if they belonged to the royalty or the likes.