Vane Cynster was trying to outrun a storm when he decided to drop in on godmother Minnie for shelter. Minnie's generous nature included collecting indigent relatives and eccentric strays. While expecting an old sergeant wanting to be addressed as general, Vane was instead pleasantly surprised by a nicely rounded rear poking out the shrubbery. Quite a change from his last visit, before he could consider the possibilities, the woman straightened and stumbled back into his arms. Vane earned his name by knowing which way the wind would blow. He clamped his arms around the blonde beauty and realized fate had finally found him.

Patience hurriedly pulled herself away from the muscular chest and strong arms, only to face the most dreaded of creatures: the elegant gentleman. It was easy to spot a darling of the ton with his well tailored clothes and carefully tied cravat. The little jump her heart made she decided she would just put down to fear. A lesson well learned at her mother's knee was that a gentleman like himself would only use her up and throw her away. She would have no more purpose than a brood mare. This was not the life she imagined for herself. In fact, she planned never to marry to avoid such a fate. It was the reason she was still single at seven and twenty, despite her gentle beauty. Patience looked away the smiling lips and tried to remember why an elegant gentleman was such a bad thing.

Vane's godmother was delighted to see him because she had a problem that needed Vane's touch. A ghost who was suddenly haunting the ruins was upsetting the guests, not to mention a petty thief. If that wasn't enough to stir his protective Cynster instincts, the thought of Patience sealed the deal. Unfortunately for Patience not only was Vane going to be in residence, he rapidly became the role model for her impressionable teenage brother.

Despite her reluctance to befriend Vane, Patience felt she must, if only to clear her brother's name who some of the guests were calling the culprit. Mayhem reigned when guests pointed fingers at each other, Minnie's priceless pearls disappeared, Vane tried to get Patience to say I do, and Gerard, Patience's brother, was knocked out cold from a fairly physical ghost--just another day for a Cynster.

RAKE'S VOW is the second novel of the Cynster series. Vane, unlike his Cynster brethren knows he has met his match as soon as he meets her. Unfortunately for him, Patience doesn't and leads him on a merry chase that is delicious fun to read about.

Reviewed by Morgan Wyatt
© October 2004