Fast footwork needed!

A Duke by Scot (MacGalloway’s #1) by Amy Jarecki                        

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed Jarecki’s portrayal of a desperate and daring young woman, Lady Julia St. Vincent, being employed as Jules Smallwood, male secretary to Martin MacGalloway the Duke of Dunscaby. Of course this a situation rife with all sorts of comic possibilities. Hilarity follows quite naturally when Jules’ employer the Duke decides his rather effete young secretary needs toughening up. He’d noticed when they first met,

“The man wasn’t only the size of a jockey, he had to be the bonniest fellow Martin had ever seen. Even his hands seemed inordinately small, well-manicured, and feminine.” 

Don’t even get me started on the boxing lesson! All efforts add deliciously to the tension. I was exhausted by Julia’s deft footwork needed as she swept from one charged situation to another. Couple that with the need to occasionally revert to female! Well!

When the Duke walks in on Jules / Julia in the bath we can literally see the Duke befuddlement, wondering where his wits had gone, post that moment when he rather delighted in his male secretary’s back. Yoiks! No wonder the Duke thought it was time for he pursued some form of female dalliance!

Laughable as these comedic aspects of the are, there’s Julia’s conundrum over the demands of the sinister Silas Skinner, an unscrupulous moneylender her holds what’s left of her family property in his vice like grip. Her overriding fear is that this scoundrel blackmailer will destroy all she’s working for before she can repay the loan.

The image of Julia and the family butler working together to save the house is wonderful. The idea of  Willaby cutting Julia’s hair to ensure her masquerade, demonstrates the sheer weight of the gambling depts incurred by Julia’s father, the Earl of Brixham. It also tell us us something about these old retainers with what’s left of the Household working as one (Upstairs and Downstairs like) to salvage the situation.

My one complaint is that the latter part became just a tad predictable after its brilliant opening first half.

Not enough however to lessen my enjoyment. A witty, ever changing tapestry of delight. 

An Xpresso Books ARC via NetGalley 

Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)