Merry Christmas, everyone! Here’s a romp for Christmas Day.
The vicarage children are excited to learn whether their mother’s best friend will invite their sister Arabella for a season in London, in the hopes she can make an eligible match. The invitation arrives from Lady Bridlington, and then the worry is that the upright Reverend Tallant will not allow her to go.
Soon Arabella is on her way to London from Yorkshire. But the perch of her uncle’s old carriage breaks, and she sees nothing wrong with going to the nearest house for shelter. Unfortunately, it is the hunting box of Robert Beaumarais, a leading figure in society and a very wealthy man, who assumes she is one of many girls trying to make his acquaintance. When she hears him saying this to his friend Lord Fleetwood, she says she is the rich Arabella Tallant, who hoped to be unrecognized in London.
Beaumarais sees through this lie but maliciously lets the indiscreet Lord Fleetwood think he knows about her. He also decides to make her debut a sensation. Soon, Arabella is a success but doesn’t dare accept anyone’s proposal because she realizes that they all think she is rich, whereas she has no money at all.
Although she is in an awkward position, she is enjoying herself. But then her brother Bertram, who is supposed to be at Oxford, arrives and begins to get himself into financial difficulties. To make things worse, Arabella has begun to realize she cares for Beaumarais and is afraid to admit her deceit.
Arabella is an adorable heroine, and Beaumarais a likable hero, as he fondly watches her dig herself deeper into trouble, hoping she will confide in him. Heyer is at her best and funniest with these absurd plots.