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This is a sweet little historical romance with a hero and heroine who are like minded in being, smart, witty and refreshingly honest with each other. Unlike most of this genre, the virginal lady knows exactly who the rake is and loves him anyway, because she can see that beneath the veneer of ugly behavior is a kind man.

She, Venetia (ugly name and how is it pronounced?), has seen his kindness in action when her younger brother, Aubrey, who has a lame leg, is injured horse riding near the gentleman's estate and Damerel takes him home to recover. While there, Aubrey is handled beautifully by Damerel who instinctively realizes that the boy hates pity and truly despises being treated like an invalid. The character of Aubrey is wonderful and I soon grew to love him just as much as his sister does. Aubrey is a brilliant scholar and also has a rapier wit like Venetia and although quite acerbic and self-involved, truly loves his sister and wants her to be happy.

All's well that ends well and there are some skeletons in everyone's closet that make this love match, not nearly as unequal as we are led to believe in the beginning.