Header PromotionThe Perfect Wife (1996) by Victoria Alexander (Avon)
We start in a cave and a man coming to slowly only to discover he was tied and blindfolded. He had been after some smugglers for the crown when he guessed he was coshed over the head. From what the man could tell the head of this elusive smuggling ring was a woman. She leaves him with some grudging admiration, a fine headache, and a kiss. Next we jump forward ten years to Sabrina Winfield and her daughter. Belinda, the daughter, is getting married and they attend a ball where Sabrina is finally going to meet the intendeds father, the Earl of Wyldewood. Nicholas is drawn to Sabrina as soon as they meet but shortly after the initial meeting Sabrina once again dons her social mask and takes herself off for some amusements away from the dancing throngs. While involved in the card play she learns of a supposed letter detailing a fortune her late husband supposedly acquired right before his death. While outwardly she scoffs she promises herself that she was going to find that letter, for her daughters sake. Her finances were such that she could not provide the proper dowry her daughter deserved and the mentioned gold would solve everything. After Belinda finds her supposed always calm mother tearing the house apart she prevails on her fiancée to do something, who in turn asks his father for assistance in the matter. In the meantime Sabrina had found the elusive map and was on her way to Egypt and wasn’t about to let anyone stop her. Nicholas finds himself accompanying Sabrina, at the last moment, and many adventures follow for all the players involved.
This was a fun and delightful story and one of Victoria Alexander’s first books, actually. The story was great and you actually get more than just the front and center romance. We also have a story about the daughter and her fiancée, as well as an interesting development for Nicholas’s sister. All these are intertwined together and an added mystery twist from another player is also in this mix, although you don’t find out who this person is till toward the end of the book. 
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Use the talents you have, for the woods would by silent if no birds sang except the best. (from a flip inspiration book-'Thoughts for my daughter')
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