The Pursuit of Lady Harriett

by Rachael Anderson

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Celebrated as an Incomparable during her first London season, Lady Harriett Cavendish has beauty, confidence, and countless admirers—yet not a single one has managed to stir her heart. Enter Lieutenant Christopher Jamison: freshly returned from war and utterly unlike every polished suitor she’s dismissed. He is blunt, infuriating, and far too willing to challenge her carefully composed world.

Determined to put the insolent lieutenant in his place, Harriett instead finds herself drawn into a battle of wit and will that leaves her dangerously off balance. For the first time, she discovers that love is not something to be conquered—and that losing control may cost her everything she thought she wanted.

EXCERPT

The corners of the man's eyes crinkled in a mild show of amusement. "Lady Harriett, I presume?"

Rather than look at her with appreciation as most men did, he appeared amused.

At her nod, he tucked his hands behind his back, remaining a few steps above her. "I am Lieutenant Christopher Jamison, an old friend of Jonathan's."

"I was expecting you days ago," she answered. "Lord Jonathan charged me with the unhappy task of informing you he and his new bride are currently away on their wedding trip. He is sorry he cannot be here to meet with you and has asked that I relay his apologies."

"May I inquire as to how long they will be away?" he asked.

No, you may not, she wanted to say. Her neck was beginning to ache from looking up at him, but she forced her gaze to remain steady. "They expected to be gone a fortnight, sir."

"And they have been gone how long, exactly?"

She felt an unaccountable hesitancy to tell him. "A week."

"Ah." He sounded disappointed but seemed to take the news in stride, glancing at Charlie as though wondering whether he ought to retrieve his horse or not. Harriett prayed that he would.

When his gaze strayed back to her, he took the unwelcome, and ungentlemanly, liberty of perusing her figure. When his eyes met hers again, his lips twitched into a slight smile. "Forgive me, my lady, but you appear to have had a run-in with a mud puddle and lost."

How kind of him to point that out. Harriett kept her hands at her side rather than attempt to brush the dirt from her face and pelisse yet again. The damage was done, and no amount of brushing or shaking would remove the muck. What she needed was a hot bath and a change of clothes.

"Actually, sir, I was merely an innocent bystander."

"Indeed?"

She picked up her skirts and ascended the steps, stopping on the stair above him so that she was eye level with him. "Are you always such a reckless rider, sir? Do you not pay heed to your surroundings?"

"Of course I do."

"If you had, you would have seen me standing at the side of the road and, I would hope, thought to slow your animal down so as to not splash mud all over my pelisse." Her chilly set down did not have the desired effect. He did not appear the least bit repentant. Rather, he looked ready to burst into laughter.

"And your face, apparently." He leaned forward and squinted. "If I'm not mistaken, there is a splash or two of mud on your bonnet as well."

Harriett glared at him. "How observant you are, Lieutenant Jamison. One can only wonder why you didn't put that skill to good use earlier. If you had, perhaps my pelisse, face, and bonnet would still be clean."

"I am always observant, my lady," he said. "But might I suggest that if you would like to be noticed at the side of the road, you should wear a color that does not blend so perfectly with your surroundings. That particular shade of green looks quite lovely on you, but only someone with the eyes of an eagle would have spotted you in front of a landscape of evergreens."

Harriett opened her mouth to respond, but no words were forthcoming. The man did not even attempt to behave like a gentleman. How could he be so . . . so . . .

"Have you no apology to offer, sir?" she finally spluttered.

"Oh, did I not apologize? Forgive me."

"For what? Forgetting to apologize or for not doing so in the first place?"

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Book Details

Genre

Historical Romance

Subgenre

General Historical, Georgian (1714–1837)

Series

Tanglewood • Book 3

Audience

New Adult

Bell Peppers

🫑🫑

Profanity

1 None

Violence

1 None

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

1 None

Publication Date

August 23, 2017

Language Versions

English

Narration Type

Human

Fiction Form

Novel

Editorial Reviews

"This book made me happy! I love Rachael Anderson's books—she is one of my favorite authors." —Aimee, Goodreads.com

"If you love, honesty, salt instead of sugar . . . and books that just make you sigh at the end then this book might be for you too!" —Kelly, Goodreads.com

"I automatically buy Ms. Anderson's new releases because I'm a fan of her witty and spunky characters." —Sara, Goodreads.com

Reading enjoyment!

I have found this three book series to be a lovely read. Having read the three books in quick succession I can say that they held my interest and I thoroughly enjoyed each one. I will definitely look for more from this author. Thank you Rachel.

Interesting

Kept my interest and desire to keep reading rather than set it aside for a day

Not as good as previous books in series 3.5*

The Pursuit Of Lady Harriet - Rachael AndersonThis is the final book in the Tanglewood Series. It is a clean read, well written & edited. Only a couple of typos (American spelling/ words including the use of “frosting” on a cake; “nitwits” - too modern for the period). I enjoyed the previous books & had high hopes for Lady Harriet’s story as she’s quite a forward & independent young lady. However, I was rather disappointed she couldn’t put her foot down & politely decline the Biddings’ invitations. She said the wrong things which Mrs Biddings misunderstood. I did not care for their little disagreements during this time; the “pursuit” of Harriet (to find something that she is better at, than him.)In fact, it wasn’t until halfway through the book that I really began to enjoy it. The pursuit of Christopher as Harriet challenges him to woo her. After all, a lady does not “pursue a man for any reason.” Although it is not quite the trope of a fake betrothal, Christopher’s parents do believe that Harriet is infatuated by their son.Lady Harriet stays at her friends’ estate, Tanglewood, while they’re away on their honeymoon. She is to receive Jonathan’s friend & once he realises he’s not at home, Lieutenant Christopher Jamison will leave for his parents’ home in Cornwall. The lieutenant finally turns up, & after a week of her own company, Harriet finds his company & that of the Biddings, refreshing & challenging to say the least!Harriet & Christopher continues to rub each other the wrong way, despite both enjoying & missing the other’s company. It seems the two of them may be developing feelings for each other. If only Harriet could be sure Christopher was genuine & not teasing her! It is only when Jonathan draws Christopher’s attention to the fact that Harriet will be in demand during the London Season (once she attends) that he realises that he must make better use & opportunities of their time in Tanglewood, if he hopes for any chance with her...To be honest, I did not like Harriet all that much in this book. I hated how Harriet called him “Chris”. I found the lieutenant to be rather hopeless with woman, despite having five sisters (except in the bonnet scene). However he did redeem himself once he was in London.I noticed at the back of the book underneath (Books by Rachael Anderson) that this book was titled “The Splash of Lady Harriett”. Did it have a name change at one point?

An entertaining read.

This is an engaging an well-written entertaining read. Yes, there were the odd Americanisms, such as the words 'antsy', 'is all', 'pled' instead of pleaded, and others, but they were only a minor irritation. I daresay we should forgive an American writer the odd imperfection in this regard when the overall story and writing is so enjoyable. And a clean read, too, which is always a plus in my book. I enjoyed it immensely, and I would recommend it as light entertainment.

Well done!

Thank you for such a lovely read. I like to see the oddities and follies of the characters, and yet to also see their intrinsic worth. Thank you for sharing your talents with us as readers!