The Gentleman and the Rogue takes place in England after the Battle of Badajoz. Sir Alan Watleigh, late from the war finds himself out on the town looking for a bit of pleasure in a dark moment of his life. What he finds is Jeremy Brown. Jeremy, or Jem as his friends call him, is a prostitute and thief. He has a quick mind and a willing wit. Jem’s honest acceptance of the passion he feels for the war veteran, forces Alan to examine the censure he’s been living his life under. A night of intimacy leads Alan to offer Jem employment as his valet.
The Gentleman and the Rogue takes a plot line that might have immediately devolved into nothing more than one sexual encounter after another. Instead it becomes a sweet love story fraught with some painful encounters with a deadly surgeon and the rescue of a young girl-child nicknamed Major.
Alan and Jem travel from London to Sheffield and on the way they share some intimate sexual interludes that bring them closer together. The Gentleman and the Rogue is rich with historical detail and language and Jem is a very engaging character. He uses language you wouldn’t at first expect from a gutter rat, but he has sold his services to numerous London gentlemen in the past. Alan’s character offers a window into the mind of an individual living a half-life because of the strictures of the London society. Jem can entice Alan because he ultimately has very little to lose. Alan, on the other hand, has stepped back from the edge of the grave and maybe willing to live with a little help from a charming rascal.
Stars: [rating=4]
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Image courtesy of Loose Id LLC