Bitchery reader Bella asks for assistance identifying the first romance novel she ever read:
First romance I ever read:
The setting was Europe in the olden days when virginity was a Very Big Deal. The heroine is supposed to marry, and overhears to husband to be (in the garden?) dissing her and boasting about how deflowering her will be such a great accomplishment for him.
She is pissed. She knows she can’t do anything about the marriage (I can’t remember if this was due to a loving father’s dying wishes or something, or if she just understands the world in which she lives), but there is one little matter she can do something about.
She decides to lose her virginity and shares a night of passion with an anonymous stranger (at an inn, set up by—? Loyal servant?). She leaves in the morning before anonymous stranger wakes, leaving a bag of gold on the mantel.
Anonymous stranger is bowled over by the Amazing Gift that this amazingly gorgeous woman has bestowed on him. He is insulted by the money, and vows to find the Beautiful Stranger.
Heroine returns to her life and marries the cad. He is abusive (and verrry angry about not being able to deflower her). The climax of the plot includes the heroine being locked in her room, while the house is on fire. Of course, she is (somehow) found and rescued by the anonymous stranger.
The only other thing I remember is that the anonymous stranger was a sailor or ship captain. Something boat related.
But what is it? Help!
This sounds *somewhat* like a Bettina Krahn book – _Not Quite Married_. I believe that’s a rewrite of an older book, _Rapture’s Ransom_, so it could be either, I suppose.
That has to be it! Here’s the back cover copy:
RAPTURE’S RANSOM
THE COST OF COMFORT
Golden-haired Brien was indescribably happy: soon she would be the wife of a rich, handsome Frenchman. But when the glowing bride-to-be heard her fiance’s drunken bragging about his past exploits, she couldn’t bear the thought of matrimony to such a scoundrel. There was no way out—and Brien decided that if she must suffer a lifetime by the wastrel’s side, she would delight in just one night of pleasure before her hateful marriage began.
THE PRICE OF PASSION
Dark, rugged Allen Stewart wondered who had summoned him to the discreet, quiet inn, but when he saw the lush, lovely lady, he felt the need for ecstasy, not explanations. They shared a night of unbridled desire—then Allen awoke to a cold, empty bed. the soft, fragrant beauty had bewitched him and he swore that he’d search the whole world and pay any price for RAPTURE’S RANSOM.
Yeah, that sounds closer than the rewrite, in which they actually get married. (Odd, that…) The nasty Frenchman and the fire and the Captain are the same.
“he felt the need for ecstasy”
Yeah, that stuff will keep you going. The hangover sucks though.
the soft, fragrant beauty had bewitched him
Soft and fragrant? Huh. Sounds like cheese.
Authors don’t write back cover copy and this is from the old version of the book, from what I could tell.
Soft and fragrant? Huh. Sounds like cheese.
Or like Mrs Mary Archer (wife of Jeffrey Archer):
During the 1987 libel trial Mary Archer famously took the stand to support her husband.
Summing up, Mr Justice Caulfield described Mrs Archer as a vision of “elegance, fragrance and radiance”. (BBC)
Well, whoever wrote the cover copy had a serious hard-on going for alliteration. Consonance makes me hot!
Wait…no it doesn’t.
I have misplaced my glasses. I just read “Dark, rugged Alien…” and I immediately thought of Sigourney Weaver. Puts a whole new spin on things, doesn’t it?