The tale of sensible Frederica and reluctant Vernon
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Guided by an uncanny hunch about trouble brewing back home, the Honourable Christopher 'Kit' Fancot makes a surprise return from the Continent. On arrival, he finds the Fancot household in an uproar - as the young Earl of Denville, his twin, was missing. And just a day before the missing Earl is to be presented to his fiancee's family. Handsome and eligible as the titled elder of the Fancot twins was, no one would forgive him if he failed to appear. If the respectable match was scotched, it would dash the last hope of getting their pretty, improvident widgeon of a mother out of debt - as the Earl needs a respectable marriage to recover his principal.
Rather than embarassing the charming Cressida Stavely at her own engagement party, Kit agrees to masquerade as his twin Evelyn for one day ( after a pelter of pleas and arguments ). For himself, Kit feels that his brother is being thrust into a loveless marriage and is decidedly against the engagement. The meeting is undoubtedly a success. With his intelligence, wit and superb manners, Kit manages to deceive all present - and charm them all too, including Cressy's formidable grandmother, the Dowager Lady Stavely. Cressida Stavely however finds herself in a fix. Agreeing to the engagement in an unguarded moment, she had found herself wanting to cry off for although she found herself in perfect charity with the handsome Evelyn, she found that she couldn't love him. But after seeing the Earl again, she wonders whether she wasn't attracted to him after all. Little does Cressy know of the hoax that is being played on her. Satisfied with the arrangements, Kit prepares to retire to the countryside while he waits for his twin to return from wherever - when Cressy's grandmother decides to descend upon his family. The hapless Kit has no other recourse but to continue in his deception. As he gets to know Cressy in the comfort of his home, Ravenshurst, Kit finds himself envying his brother Evelyn - as he finds himself falling for the intelligent, witty Cressy. For her part, the perspicacious Cressy starts to get suspicious as she finds slight discrepancies between the young man who's courting her and the one who had proposed to her weeks earlier. In a hilarious scene, Cressy walks in on poor Kit trying to get rid of a certain Mrs Alperton. Seeing Cressy and the mother of one of Evelyn's inamoratas stuns Kit for a moment as even that resourceful young man finds himself at a loss. Judging the situation creditably, Cressy manages to save the situation - even adding the leveller that she loves someone else.
Cressida admits that she has known that Kit has been doubling as his twin for some time and that she loves him. All would seem to be resolved until Evelyn makes a surprise return as well, with the news that he has fallen in love too - and with a provincial saint called Patience. Even the unflappable Kit Fancot is daunted by the problems presented to him. Knowing that with Evelyn marrying the ineligible Patience, the Trust would never be broken... The Dowager Lady Stavely would never agree to the marriage between her granddaughter and Kit... That their ingenuous Mama would probably remain in debt almost forever. The answer that comes to him as as convoluted as it is simple. But there is never a doubt that the resourceful Kit will save the day. As Regency bucks go, Kit Fancot stands tall amongst them - handsome, charming and polished. And one of the few younger sons playing the main role in her novels. Although I find that the distinctive feature about Kit is his incredibly glib tongue. Ever the diplomat, this man has a ready answer for every occasion. Amazingly, not even the Dowager Lady Stavely's probing questions serve to disconcert him.
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