Once Wicked

Dylan Marlow, disinherited by his uncle, the Earl of Stoke, and desperately short of funds, must find a wealthy wife to finance the maiden voyage of the ship that will launch his business. To supplement his income in the meantime, Dylan masquerades as a highwayman, robbing the ton even as he moves among their ranks searching for an eligible heiress. After robbing Amelia Benedict, he proceeds to kiss her and finds himself falling in love. While Amelia returns the highwayman's intense emotions, she is romantically pursued by the unscrupulous Lord Chadworth, who is determined to win her hand in order to conceal his own affair with Lady Melbourne. When Dylan learns the true nature of Chadworth's intentions, he attempts to save Amelia from a loveless marriage and assist her charitable but unfashionable endeavors to aid a home for orphans. After anonymously giving Amelia enough money to repair the orphanage roof, Dylan engages in one last robbery, with near fatal results, and Amelia confronts the reality of their precarious romance. The sweet, fairy-tale love story between the highway man and his lady redeems the sometimes ponderous prose of Browning's old-fashioned romance, and a wedding on board Dylan's ship provides the requisite happy ending. (July)