The Wedding Game by Jane Feather

This is the last book in the Duncan Sister Trilogy. The first two books are The Bachelor List & The Bride Hunt which tell the stories of Constance and Prudence Duncan. This trio of sisters has had to find ways to supplement their income after their father loses a large portion of his wealth on a bad investment. The stories take place in the early 1900 which was quite different for me. There really aren't that many books that take place during this time, when the women's suffragist movement was taking root and women were testing the limits society had imposed on them for so long. The sisters decide to continue the suffragist work their deceased mother had started by printing a broadsheet called The Mayfair Lady where not only do they talk about the movement but also run advertisements, an advice column and a matchmaking service. The Go-Between is the matchmaking service which we have seen has had some success in the previous books.

Chastity Duncan goes to interview a potential client and encounters a man she had seen before (in The Bride Hunt). Dr. Douglas Farrell is committed to a slum clinic but he needs funds to afford the medication that his patients cannot afford. He is looking for a wealthy wife that will give him an influx of funds and put him in the path of wealthy clients. He believes that by treating the wealthy and all their imaginary diseases he will be able to treat the truly needy. Regardless to say that his disdain for the wealthy comes through loud and clear during his interview and since he didn't explain his motives for taking on a rich wife, Chastity, who is the most sensitive of the sisters, is livid. When she discusses the client with her sisters, they agree to take him on even though his motives appear mercenary.

The book covers Chastity and Douglas romance, but also Lord Duncan's (the sister's widowed father) romance to an Italian Countess, whose daughter, Laura, is the candidate the Go-Between have chosen for Douglas. The events in the book take place during Christmas which is nice. This is the best story in the trilogy, although the others were good as well. I especially enjoyed that the Hero/Heroine can be seen falling in love. After Chastity discovers what Douglas is doing her attitude changes and she starts seeing the real Douglas. It's a straight forward love story with not alot of complications and barriers (unless you call the fact that Chastity is dirt poor an obstacle).

Grade: B