Cotillion - Georgette Heyer

 One of Heyer's better romances.  I'll probably read it more than once.

 

Kittie has been reared by her grumpy benefactor who was an admirer of her mother.  He decides that he will leave his fortune to her as long as she marries one of his great nephews (whom she regards as her cousins - having met them often as she was growing up).

 

The great nephews are not much impressed by this.  Either they are in love with someone else, already married and thus can't claim the cash, feel it's very very unfair on Kitty to be put in this situation, or feel insulted that their great uncle is trying to force their hand.

 

Kitty has always had a crush on Jack, but he does not turn up when Uncle Matthew demands - he hates being manipulated, even though he would be willing to marry Kitty (partly for the cash).

 

Freddie, who hasn't been told about the 'marriage' thing until he arrives is not interested in marrying Kitty - he is wealthy in his own right and isn't looking for a wife.

 

Kitty, who is desperate to go to London and try to find a husband who wants to marry her without any fortune (realistically a fairly forlorn hope...), twists Freddie's arm into proposing to her so that she can go to London with him.   (and also to try and make Jack jealous)  The rest you can probably guess...

 

I like Freddie.  He's not an obvious hero.  He doesn't sparkle in conversation, he's not the brightest member of his family, nor does he get into duels or flagrant gestures.  But he likes Kitty. He likes her developing sense of fashion, her willingness to listen to his advice about what to wear (and Freddie is on the spot when it comes to clothing).  He has a strong sense of propriety which leads him to disapprove of some of the contacts Kitty makes, but he's never nasty.

 

And when Kitty gets into scrapes, it will always be Freddie who quietly sorts things out without even being asked. 

 

It isn't very long at all before the reader senses that Jack's ways with the women, his manners (nowhere near as good as Freddie's), his flashes of temper, his tendency to try and manipulate people. etc. are causing Kitty to lose her infatuation for him - though Jack is so confident of his hold over her that he totally fails to realise this.

 

Freddie knows her feelings for Jack, but doesn't realise they have gone until she rejects Jack's confident proposal and chooses Freddie instead.