His function in her life was primarily as a buffer against the many men interested in pursuing her.
Some five years into her marriage with Francis, Leila had given up any idea of redeeming him, and they had settled into an arrangement whereby she fulfilled her role as nominal wife, but devoted her time to forging a name for herself in the art world. Neither Leila nor Esmond are particularly happy about his involvement in the case, as their relationship, since he orchestrated a meeting in Paris the year before, has been a tug-of-war between attraction and resistance. For such a delicate operation, they call upon Comte d’Esmond, a man of many talents who not only moves easily within the highest levels of society but has also spent the past ten years as one of the government’s most trusted and discreet covert operatives. When he turns up dead in the Beaumont townhouse, a quiet investigation is initiated by government officials, who fear the fallout from Francis’s numerous blackmail and extortion schemes could do irreversible damage to the ranks of statesmen and aristocrats alike.
Once the hero who had rescued and wed the orphaned, 17-year-old Leila, Francis’s hedonistic lifestyle and complete amorality have weakened his body and garnered him legions of enemies. Leila Beaumont is a talented portrait painter residing in London with her profligate husband, Francis. Such is Loretta Chase’s Captives of the Night, where an interesting mystery, two fascinating protagonists, complex interrelationships and escalating sexual and emotional tension combine to intrigue, entertain and engage. But the books I cling to most zealously are ones I consider works of art, sheer perfection holistically or when consumed in bite-sized portions. Those in the first category have some element(s) which resonated with me upon first reading, and while I don’t necessarily re-read them from cover to cover, I have favorite scenes I like to revisit once in awhile.
For me, there are keepers, then there are keepers.
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