Compromised by Kate Noble

Narrated by Rosalind Ashford

Compromised, originally published in 2008, was Kate Noble’s début novel, and while a little rough around the edges in some places, is nonetheless competently written and strongly characterised.

Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, is heir to the reclusive and controlling Earl of Longsbowe, who, at the beginning of the story, threatens to disinherit his son if he does not marry within the next three months. Max, who has chosen to make his own, rather modest, way in the world rather than submit to his father’s manipulations and dictates, is forced to take the threat seriously, although actually, it’s rather a big plot hole. The earl threatens to have Max declared illegitimate so he can’t inherit, but I doubt he could have done so. If a child was born in wedlock – as Max was – it was legitimate, regardless of who supplied the sperm!

Fortunately for Max, he soon meets the beautiful and demure Miss Evangeline Alton at a ball, is completely captivated by her and decides that perhaps marriage won’t be such a hardship after all. In the romantic atmosphere of a moonlit conservatory, filled with the heady scents of exotic flowers, Max and the young lady share a kiss which, unhappily for them, is witnessed and therefore sure to lead to all sorts of damaging gossip. Determined to do the right thing, Max duly presents himself at the Alton’s home the following morning to make Evangeline an offer of marriage.

The Altons have only recently returned to London, having spent a number of years living abroad. Sir Geoffrey is a diplomat and father of two daughters, Evangeline and Abigail (Gail), and has recently remarried. Not only is he hopeful of a new and important government appointment, his new wife, Romilla, is determined to do her utmost to see the girls comfortably settled and accepted in society. Any gossip to the effect that Evie has been compromised could prove disastrous for the all their prospects, but Romilla comes up with a suitable plan of action. Max and Evie can be secretly engaged for a month, during which time he will publicly court her. When the month is up, their betrothal will be announced, thus scotching any rumours that it had to be hastily arranged. In order to make sure the courtship maintains the appearance of utter propriety and familial endorsement, Romilla specifies that a family member must accompany the couple at all times. Needless to say, this puts an incredible impediment in the way of Max and Evie getting to know each other – especially as their chaperone is usually Gail, whose relationship with Max is rather adversarial.

Max and Gail actually encountered each other well before Max met Evie, on what proved to be a most inauspicious occasion. Riding in the park one morning, Gail spooked Max’s horse which led to their both being thrown and ending up in a lake. Max thinks Gail is an outspoken brat, and she thinks he’s a pompous idiot, so finding out she’s the sister of his intended comes as something of a shock.

Yet while Evie is very reserved in Max’s company, he and Gail have no problem continuing with their verbal spats which actually lead to their getting to know more about each other than Max and Evie do.

The direction the book is going to take is obvious, but Ms Noble does quite a good job of getting us there. While the story is rather slow to start, taking a bit too long for the two protagonists to meet, and for Max to discover Gail’s identity, once it gets going, things move at a decent pace. There are also a couple of particularly insightful moments which push the book into the “slightly above average” bracket for me, one of which is a powerfully emotional scene late on in the book relating to Max’s relationship with his father. I was also impressed with the subtle way in which the author conveys Max’s gradually growing disappointment at how little he and Evie know or understand each other. He tries to resist that idea initially, but the more time he spends with the witty, derisive Gail, the more he gets to know her; and as he discovers their shared interest in travel and languages, it brings Evie’s lack of enthusiasm for his interests and his for hers into sharp focus.

The characterisation of both principals is well done, with Gail being particularly strongly drawn. I’m not a fan of very young heroines (Gail is eighteen) but she comes across as more mature than her years would suggest and is an interesting mix of fierce intelligence and vulnerability. Having grown up in the shadow of her gorgeous, good-natured sister, Gail has long accepted the fact that she will always have to play second fiddle to Evie. Max is surprised when he sees how subdued Gail is in company, because with him she’s never shy about speaking her mind. But Gail’s outspokenness has had unlooked-for consequences, and she finds it “easier to sit in a corner and be quiet”, than have to work at being demure. There’s a moment where she tells Max that nobody worries about her – not in the way they worry about Evangeline – which is very telling and very poignant.

I’ve seen Rosalind Ashford’s name cropping up more and more frequently at Audible over the last few months, and she has several historical romance narrations to her credit, but this is the first time I’ve listened to her. I enjoyed her narration overall, although it felt a little slow in the first few chapters. I’m not sure if I got used to it or if she adjusted her pacing somewhat, but by the end of the audiobook, I didn’t find the speed to be an issue. Ms Ashford has an expressive, mid-range voice which enables her to pitch slightly higher for the young women while maintaining a comfortably lower pitch for the men. She does a good job with the rather bluff Sir Geoffrey, although I wasn’t particularly impressed with her portrayal of the German Count Roffstaam. I understand that he is meant to be a slightly comedic character and that Ms Ashford tries to portray him accordingly, but her accent is neither authentic nor consistent. Fortunately, the count is a minor character and doesn’t have a lot of “screen time”, so it’s not something that is going to make or break the audiobook. More importantly, her interpretation of Max works well, and she is able to highlight his stuffiness, his humour and his quieter, more tender side through subtle changes in inflection and timbre. Gail is similarly well-characterised – suitably forthright and sarcastic, but with an underlying insecurity to her that fits the character perfectly.

Although not without its faults, Compromised is an enjoyable story. While perhaps the first hour or so of the audiobook drags a little, it’s worth persevering because once the story gets moving, it’s well-paced and entertaining.

Caz

Narration: B-

Book Content: C+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: None

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Audible Studios