Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Someone to Trust is the fifth of Mary Balogh’s novels about the Westcott family, and it’s probably not the place to jump into the series. The author does undertake a “previously on The Westcotts” recap in the opening chapter (which is a bit clumsy and info-dumpy), but I’m not going to attempt it here and will assume that if you’re interested in listening to Someone to Trust, you’ve listened to at least one of the previous books and have a rough idea of who is who.
It’s Christmas and the Westcott family is gathered together at the family seat to celebrate the holiday and the marriage of Viola, the former Countess of Riverdale (as told in the previous book, Someone to Care). Lady Elizabeth Overfield, sister of Alex, the Earl of Riverdale, has been a widow for a few years, and seeing her large family, with its happy, recently married couples, brings home to her just how lonely she is. Her marriage was not a happy one (her husband was a drunkard who abused her emotionally and physically), but that doesn’t deter her from thinking that perhaps it’s time for her to remarry.
Also present at the gathering is Colin Handrich, Lord Hodges, the younger brother of Alex’s wife, Wren (Someone to Wed). Like Elizabeth, he observes the happiness of the married couples around him and thinks that it’s time he started actively seeking a spouse. He also admires the quietly authoritative way that his brother-in-law serves as head of his family, and is pondering ways to emulate that, to establish his position as the head of the Handrich family and to lessen his mother’s iron hold over them all. But it’s Christmas, and he can afford to take a day or two to enjoy the festivities, which he does, finding a particular pleasure in the company of Lady Elizabeth. She’s attractive, charming and good humoured, and Colin – feeling just a little out of place amid a glut of Westcotts! – very much appreciates her thoughtfulness in making sure he feels welcome and fully included in the party. The two of them gravitate naturally towards each other and enjoy indulging in the sort of light-hearted flirtation that is as far as any relationship between them can possibly go, given that she is nine years older than he is and thus not a suitable marriage prospect.
It’s clear right from the outset that Colin is already well on his way to falling in love with Elizabeth, even though he has no clue that’s what is happening. He likes and admires her, even wishing that he could find a wife just like her in temperament; he even jokingly suggests that as they’re both thinking of getting married in the near future, they should just marry each other and save themselves the bother of finding someone else! Of course they laugh about it together, but Elizabeth has already begun to have an inkling of just how dangerous Colin could be to her peace of mind – and her heart – and tries to squash her feelings of attraction to this handsome, charming and appealing young man. Nevertheless, when, after their waltz on the final night of the house party, Colin suggests that they should have one dance together whenever they happen to be in attendance at the same ball in London, Elizabeth is pleased to accept his suggestion and looks forward to meeting him again during the Season.
I was glad when I learned that Elizabeth would be getting her own book, as I’ve liked her as a character from the start. She’s sensible and kind, with a good sense of fun, and what she has endured – an abusive husband and several miscarriages – has given her resilience and strength of character. I also appreciated another story about an ‘older’ heroine finding love (Elizabeth is thirty-five and Viola was in her forties), and, as well, that she would find it with a younger man, which is still not a pairing that occurs all that often in romance novels.
Colin and Elizabeth are clearly meant to be, and Ms. Balogh does an excellent job developing the connection between them and showing listeners exactly why they are perfect for each other. Colin is wonderfully realised as a young man with a maturity and wisdom that are perhaps beyond his years, and really, the only thing standing between them is the age difference, which at first, stops both of them from really thinking seriously about the other as a potential life-partner. Colin asks Elizabeth to marry him several times throughout the story – passing it off as a joke each time – until he realises that her refusals are starting to sting a little and what that means; while Elizabeth finds his quick acceptance of her rejections to be more upsetting than they should be.
The romance here is fairly low-key, more of a continual simmer than a rolling boil, but it’s no less heartfelt or romantic for it, and in fact, perfectly reflects both characters’ desire to find someone with whom to build a family, home and future rather than to experience some kind of grand passion that will burn hot and burn out. The drama in the novel is provided by Colin’s mother – the heartless, egotistical bitch who told him Wren was dead when in fact, she’d shipped her off to relatives because she couldn’t bear to see the birthmark on one side of her face – and her determination to marry him off to the most beautiful debutante of the Season simply because beauty such as Colin’s deserves no less. She’s completely over the top – deluded, manipulative and shallow – and one of those train-wreck characters it’s almost impossible to look away from. Sometimes, I found her presence rather jarring in this otherwise ‘quiet’ book, although her antics provide a stark contrast to Elizabeth and Colin’s good sense and their steadfast support of one another.
As the Westcott family continues to grow, so does the cast of characters Rosalyn Landor has to find voices for! One of the things Mary Balogh excels at is creating strong familial relationships, something which is very much in evidence in all the books in this series – and I imagine a grand reunion such as the one at the beginning of this story might prove a bit of a headache for the most experienced of performers. Needless to say, Ms. Landor handles it all without breaking a sweat, creating subtle differences between all the male and all the female voices to ensure that the listener can follow the various conversations without losing track of who is saying what. It’s been a while since I listened to the last book in the series, but as far as I can recall, the recurring characters are all voiced consistently according to their previous appearances. Her interpretations of Elizabeth and Colin fit them both really well – Elizabeth sounds youthful without sounding like a girl while Colin is obviously a young man, his voice pitched in a range slightly higher than characters like Alex and Avery, who are a little older. Ms. Landor’s unerring ability to pick up on the smallest of emotional cues never fails to impress me, and I can’t say often enough how much of a pleasure it is to listen to someone who so obviously understands the romance genre and what romance listeners want to hear.
While Someone to Trust isn’t my favourite of this series, I’m glad I listened to it and I suspect those who are following the Westcotts in audio will enjoy it as well. Colin and Elizabeth make a charming, well-matched couple, and Rosalyn Landor’s expert narration is a delight.
Caz
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