The Riddle of the Lost Lover
"Consuela gave such a snort of rage that she wondered flames did not issue from her nostrils."
Time: Autumn, 1813
Synopsis:
Captain Jack Vespa, an aide-de-camp of Lord Wellington's in the battle against Napoleon, is sent home from Spain after having been badly wounded. While he's convalescing, Jack, his military friends, and a spirited young lady from a neighboring estate, Consuela Jones, becomes embroiled in, and then successfully foil, a murderous scheme to defraud the government. In the process, Jack discovers that his own father was behind the terrible plot. Or was he?
When confronted with his crime, Sir Kendrick Vespa callously informs Jack that he is not Jack's father; that Jack is in fact the product of an affair between his mother, Lady Faith Vespa, and her lover. Jack then vows to find out the true identity of his father--a mission that is fraught with false leads and disappointments. Finally, with the help of Consuela and her grandmother, a fiery Italian duchess, Jack traces a nobleman who just may be his real father. Lord Kincraig, the gentleman in question, proves to be an enigma, though, obsessed with what seem to be fantastical tales of a "flying carpet" and a priceless jeweled rug that was cut into pieces and lost many centuries earlier. Jack and his faithful friends must follow "the mad rug collector" into dangerous enemy territory, face strange and terrifying adversaries, and even risk losing one another to find the truth.
Alternate Synopsis:
Veryan's well-paced sequel to the Regency romance The Riddle of Alabaster Royal
(1997), the second in a planned trilogy, tells the story of Captain Jack Vespa's
suspenseful search for the identity of the man who sired him. At every step of
the way, Jack's path is fraught with danger, betrayals, false identities, and
near calamities, but he doesn't have to walk it alone: his two companions of the
previous book accompany him, and so does his adored Consuela Jones, who simply
refuses to be left behind. Jack finally finds his true father, but he also finds
himself involved in a government plot crucial to England's war effort. He's a
pure Veryan hero to die for--courageous, loyal, and honorable--and Consuela is a
strong woman who knows her own mind and makes her own decisions. Happily, this
is exactly what Veryan's readers have come to expect from her, and her fans will
eagerly await the third installment.
Main Characters:
Jack Vespa
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