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Lord And Master
Alice was so furious she could barely speak... — Young Lord Rossmore had indicated that her word was not good enough. He arrogantly insisted she sign a contract to ensure she'd stay and work at Rossmore Hall for six weeks. — "You're not a very nice man," she said icily. — He shrugged. "So I've been told. Do you intend to sign, Miss Lester?"
Alice wanted to tear up the contract and stalk out. Still, the success of her placement agency was at stake, so, hating herself, she signed. But she knew she'd be counting the days till she could turn her back forever on this impossibly demanding man!
Alice wanted to tear up the contract and stalk out. Still, the success of her placement agency was at stake, so, hating herself, she signed. But she knew she'd be counting the days till she could turn her back forever on this impossibly demanding man!
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 22, 2016
Re Lord and Master - this is another single mum from one night stand trope, but JM pushes the boundaries just that much further by having this h NOT wind up with the father of her children. Instead she winds up with the man who hired the services of her temporary agency to organize his ancient familial estate after the death of his brother who had been running it.
I am not sure how much of what follows is editorial insistence or just JM design but one of the first characters we meet as the h makes her way to the H's hallowed estate is two giant Irish Wolfhounds, who amiably greet the h when her car breaks down right outside the H's Hall. These are Romulus and Remus, and they are quite entertaining as they go around doing Wolfhound things. Remus in particular has a knack for eating things -- even non edible things, cause well, it seemed like a Wolfhound thing to do at the time. Unfortunately he has an embarrassing tummy upheaval in the Great Hall that really irritates Frobisher, the butler, ( and we learn that proper English butlers are ALWAYS addressed by last name only, they might get greatly offended and do unspeakable things to your tea if you don't.)
So anyhows, the h and H meet when R & R find her in the lane to the Hall and frighten her with their great size. A few licks and a heated discussion with the happen-to-be-wandering-by H later, and the h is precariously perched pillion on the H's stallion and we all go to the Hall with Romulus leading the way. Once there the h finds that her job is immense, and she can't really blame the temp assistant's she sent over previously for running away.
Especially given how surly and horrible the H is - it seems our H is really a premier portrait and landscape painter. He had no desire to run the 95 room family homestead or its accompanying acreage full of old duffers who still yank off their caps and call him 'gov". But his foolish younger brother got himself a fatally broken neck after doing a charity stunt and the H had no choice but to give up the bohemian life in France and come home to run the family lands. However the H soon makes it clear that he would have no problems whatsoever in exercising his lordly droit de seigneur upon the h's body if she would just remove a few more pieces of clothing.
In the meantime the house and lands require a great deal of managing and some really good money making idears too, the H continually whines about how much running the family pile costs and the native locals aren't helping matters either. The H wants to build a tournament quality golf course and attract a lot of money to the area, the locals are against it because they don't want to be priced out their homes. There has been some vandalism and some hard words, but mainly the h is there to balance the books, make sure things are fixed and running smoothly in the Hall and get it ready for touring season. Oh and she can just jump right on into the H's bed any time she feels like it. If she doesn't like the H's attentions tho, a simple NO will not suffice, she needs to run away rapidly - if she can get out from under the H's arm locking restraining holds and punishing kisses.
So the h settles in to work, the regular PA is ill and won't be back for the next six weeks, and the H has decided that the h needs to sign a legal agreement that says she stays for the full time and gets a bonus or she gets nothing if she leaves at the first seduction attempt or the first H temper tantrum. (I was sorta dubious that the bonus and payment would come thru, the H is always complaining about money problems, IMO the h should have asked for the cash to be placed in escrow rather than risking that the bank draft would bounce.)
The h doesn't want to sign the agreement, she has toddler twins currently being looked after by her mum and six weeks with no regular time off is a long time to be gone. However, the H also has no problems using his Lordly influence to ruin her temp service locally, and the h needs that income and has worked very hard to build her company. She signs the agreement under protest and tries to make it clear that bedding and lurve clubbing are not part of the service options.
(I did wonder exactly how the h was running her business, because it seems to me that most temp services have a service contract when you hire thru them, so a second contract should have been unnecessary. But then I recalled I was in HPLandia and stopped worrying about it. JM needed some why to the keep the h close enough for the H to chase her around the Hall.)
So we have the h doing Hall running things, like getting the pipes unstuck and the toilets in the west wing working again, replacing vandalized glass in the greenhouse and acting as a medieval serving wench during the special dinners that the Hall hosts and charges for to bring in income. The h gets dragooned into the serving wench attire by the formidable Mrs. Frobisher (housekeepers are ALWAYS addressed as MRS, look out for your soup if they aren't,) and the medieval evening wouldn't be complete without the h throwing back slugs of vino in between serving courses and the H dragging her into his arms at the head of the medieval table at the dinner's end.
The H carries her off to her room after the dinner is over, and we find out that the h and alcohol probably isn't a good mix, cause not only was that how the twins came into existence, she seems to have no qualms cozying up to the H's passionate kisses as he puts her to bed either. Fortunately the H manages to control his droitly urges and the h escapes the full attack of the H's mighty hammer de seigneur.
The next morning the H decides that he wants to paint the h. So artist's model is now added to her lists of job descriptions. The H also tries to add bed warming duties to that list and when the h refuses, again states that she can always run away. At one point during the painter's model sessions the H loses his temper and tells the h that he has never jumped on a model yet, when she enters his studio she is safe from his advances cause he is a PROFESSIONAL. (I did take that to mean that while his models may be safe from his grabby hands, apparently female Hall running assistants were fair game - I wasn't sure how he was categorizing the difference.) The h runs off and the H apologizes (kinda) by giving the h one of his landscapes to take home to her adoring painter H fan girl mother.
The tensions build between the H and h with copious amounts of dubious chasing the h around Hall office behavior until the h withdraws on the edge of fiery passion because she has no birth control. This is wise because last time she got preggers on the merest hint of a lurve club swing - with twins no less. The mention of birth control switches the H off like a switch, apparently the H has a very low mobile lurve mojo count.
The H relates that at one time he was in a real relationship and while he wasn't massively in love, he did tell his lady at the time that if she conceived, he would marry her. The poor thing started crying at a certain time every month because she had tried to "accidentally" get up the duff for over a year so the H would marry her and now she thinks she is infertile. They broke up a bit later, the H wasn't too keen on entrapment, but he did get tests done and the official verdict was mobile fire power ZERO. The H seems to have some issues with that. He does eventually assure the h that if she will accept him with no love, no marriage and no children, she can keep his club swinging anytime. The h asks about the H's willingness to adopt and meets with a very FIRM refusal of not only no, but not even at the heat death of the universe no.
So the h decides she has to leave, there isn't that much time on the contract left, she is caught up with things and surely the H doesn't want her around when she knows his seekrit shame. The h is all set to drive home and cuddle her twin sons when she finds the H wrecked by the side the road. She gets some help from a young man who looks remarkably like the H, but for the life of her she can't figure out why this would be so in light of the H's less than full pay load. When the H is coherent again, he explains that the young man who helped them is his illegitimate half brother that he only really recently found out about. (Apparently dad like the droit de seignuer bene too, after the H's mum died in his childhood.) A few days later the H is pretty much recovered and helping Romulus and Remus do R & R things and driving Frobisher the butler nuts, so the h goes home.
Where she gets instantly harangued by her mum for leaving the H. There is mopey moments and mum lectures and the h explains that the H doesn't want kids unless they are biologically his and that isn't possible. The mum is insistent but the h doesn't want to know. ( I did wonder at the mum's anxiousness to pimp the h out to her favorite painter she has never met. I also wondered that the h never mentions that the whole relationship would consist of the h polishing Lordly H protruding parts and that marriage was specifically forbidden, cause I wondered what mum would say to that and if she would be so eager for the union.)
So h mopeyness continues and the h is only happy trekking her toddlers around and doing toddler things. Then the H shows up at her house and sees the toddlers and has some nasty comments about husbands and runs off. The h figures what can you expect and the mopeyness goes on.
Then pimp mommy gets a yen for a ride in the country and dumps the h and the twins in the forecourt of the H's Hall. The toddlers and the dogs take one look at each other and it is love at first sight! (At least someone is getting some love around here - tho the twins had to be corrected on the differences between a horse and a dog at first.) The H establishes that the twins' dad was a visiting businessman the h went out with to show around London. The man took her to a party one night and got her toasted and they ended the evening in bed, then the h got preggers and the client denied paternity so his wife in the US wouldn't know he had been playing around, but that doesn't matter really --cause the man died in a car wreck the year before the story starts.
The H feels that he can now set aside his prejudice against marriage and kids to shackle the h cause good estate administrators/artist models are hard to come by and the H really needs to avoid that bonus payout. But mainly she will just be helping the illegitimate half brother run Hall things since he has a business degree and the half bro and the H were able to find a golf course compromise and the H wants to do a lot of painting. So we leave the newly engaged pair looking for convenient place to hide out and cuddle up in one of the H's 95 rooms and the twins and Romulus and Remus happily paired up for life for the big HEA.
This one was okay and a nice little HP outing but it didn't have the intensity or the drama we like to expect in HPLandia. The H was rather arrogant and quick to exercise that Lordly prerogative he was so happy to denounce, and the h was fairly feisty until she got a few drinks in her. Overall this isn't one that will leave a big hole in the landscape of HPlandia if you skip it, but it won't drive you to despair or fury if you do wander across it either.
I am not sure how much of what follows is editorial insistence or just JM design but one of the first characters we meet as the h makes her way to the H's hallowed estate is two giant Irish Wolfhounds, who amiably greet the h when her car breaks down right outside the H's Hall. These are Romulus and Remus, and they are quite entertaining as they go around doing Wolfhound things. Remus in particular has a knack for eating things -- even non edible things, cause well, it seemed like a Wolfhound thing to do at the time. Unfortunately he has an embarrassing tummy upheaval in the Great Hall that really irritates Frobisher, the butler, ( and we learn that proper English butlers are ALWAYS addressed by last name only, they might get greatly offended and do unspeakable things to your tea if you don't.)
So anyhows, the h and H meet when R & R find her in the lane to the Hall and frighten her with their great size. A few licks and a heated discussion with the happen-to-be-wandering-by H later, and the h is precariously perched pillion on the H's stallion and we all go to the Hall with Romulus leading the way. Once there the h finds that her job is immense, and she can't really blame the temp assistant's she sent over previously for running away.
Especially given how surly and horrible the H is - it seems our H is really a premier portrait and landscape painter. He had no desire to run the 95 room family homestead or its accompanying acreage full of old duffers who still yank off their caps and call him 'gov". But his foolish younger brother got himself a fatally broken neck after doing a charity stunt and the H had no choice but to give up the bohemian life in France and come home to run the family lands. However the H soon makes it clear that he would have no problems whatsoever in exercising his lordly droit de seigneur upon the h's body if she would just remove a few more pieces of clothing.
In the meantime the house and lands require a great deal of managing and some really good money making idears too, the H continually whines about how much running the family pile costs and the native locals aren't helping matters either. The H wants to build a tournament quality golf course and attract a lot of money to the area, the locals are against it because they don't want to be priced out their homes. There has been some vandalism and some hard words, but mainly the h is there to balance the books, make sure things are fixed and running smoothly in the Hall and get it ready for touring season. Oh and she can just jump right on into the H's bed any time she feels like it. If she doesn't like the H's attentions tho, a simple NO will not suffice, she needs to run away rapidly - if she can get out from under the H's arm locking restraining holds and punishing kisses.
So the h settles in to work, the regular PA is ill and won't be back for the next six weeks, and the H has decided that the h needs to sign a legal agreement that says she stays for the full time and gets a bonus or she gets nothing if she leaves at the first seduction attempt or the first H temper tantrum. (I was sorta dubious that the bonus and payment would come thru, the H is always complaining about money problems, IMO the h should have asked for the cash to be placed in escrow rather than risking that the bank draft would bounce.)
The h doesn't want to sign the agreement, she has toddler twins currently being looked after by her mum and six weeks with no regular time off is a long time to be gone. However, the H also has no problems using his Lordly influence to ruin her temp service locally, and the h needs that income and has worked very hard to build her company. She signs the agreement under protest and tries to make it clear that bedding and lurve clubbing are not part of the service options.
(I did wonder exactly how the h was running her business, because it seems to me that most temp services have a service contract when you hire thru them, so a second contract should have been unnecessary. But then I recalled I was in HPLandia and stopped worrying about it. JM needed some why to the keep the h close enough for the H to chase her around the Hall.)
So we have the h doing Hall running things, like getting the pipes unstuck and the toilets in the west wing working again, replacing vandalized glass in the greenhouse and acting as a medieval serving wench during the special dinners that the Hall hosts and charges for to bring in income. The h gets dragooned into the serving wench attire by the formidable Mrs. Frobisher (housekeepers are ALWAYS addressed as MRS, look out for your soup if they aren't,) and the medieval evening wouldn't be complete without the h throwing back slugs of vino in between serving courses and the H dragging her into his arms at the head of the medieval table at the dinner's end.
The H carries her off to her room after the dinner is over, and we find out that the h and alcohol probably isn't a good mix, cause not only was that how the twins came into existence, she seems to have no qualms cozying up to the H's passionate kisses as he puts her to bed either. Fortunately the H manages to control his droitly urges and the h escapes the full attack of the H's mighty hammer de seigneur.
The next morning the H decides that he wants to paint the h. So artist's model is now added to her lists of job descriptions. The H also tries to add bed warming duties to that list and when the h refuses, again states that she can always run away. At one point during the painter's model sessions the H loses his temper and tells the h that he has never jumped on a model yet, when she enters his studio she is safe from his advances cause he is a PROFESSIONAL. (I did take that to mean that while his models may be safe from his grabby hands, apparently female Hall running assistants were fair game - I wasn't sure how he was categorizing the difference.) The h runs off and the H apologizes (kinda) by giving the h one of his landscapes to take home to her adoring painter H fan girl mother.
The tensions build between the H and h with copious amounts of dubious chasing the h around Hall office behavior until the h withdraws on the edge of fiery passion because she has no birth control. This is wise because last time she got preggers on the merest hint of a lurve club swing - with twins no less. The mention of birth control switches the H off like a switch, apparently the H has a very low mobile lurve mojo count.
The H relates that at one time he was in a real relationship and while he wasn't massively in love, he did tell his lady at the time that if she conceived, he would marry her. The poor thing started crying at a certain time every month because she had tried to "accidentally" get up the duff for over a year so the H would marry her and now she thinks she is infertile. They broke up a bit later, the H wasn't too keen on entrapment, but he did get tests done and the official verdict was mobile fire power ZERO. The H seems to have some issues with that. He does eventually assure the h that if she will accept him with no love, no marriage and no children, she can keep his club swinging anytime. The h asks about the H's willingness to adopt and meets with a very FIRM refusal of not only no, but not even at the heat death of the universe no.
So the h decides she has to leave, there isn't that much time on the contract left, she is caught up with things and surely the H doesn't want her around when she knows his seekrit shame. The h is all set to drive home and cuddle her twin sons when she finds the H wrecked by the side the road. She gets some help from a young man who looks remarkably like the H, but for the life of her she can't figure out why this would be so in light of the H's less than full pay load. When the H is coherent again, he explains that the young man who helped them is his illegitimate half brother that he only really recently found out about. (Apparently dad like the droit de seignuer bene too, after the H's mum died in his childhood.) A few days later the H is pretty much recovered and helping Romulus and Remus do R & R things and driving Frobisher the butler nuts, so the h goes home.
Where she gets instantly harangued by her mum for leaving the H. There is mopey moments and mum lectures and the h explains that the H doesn't want kids unless they are biologically his and that isn't possible. The mum is insistent but the h doesn't want to know. ( I did wonder at the mum's anxiousness to pimp the h out to her favorite painter she has never met. I also wondered that the h never mentions that the whole relationship would consist of the h polishing Lordly H protruding parts and that marriage was specifically forbidden, cause I wondered what mum would say to that and if she would be so eager for the union.)
So h mopeyness continues and the h is only happy trekking her toddlers around and doing toddler things. Then the H shows up at her house and sees the toddlers and has some nasty comments about husbands and runs off. The h figures what can you expect and the mopeyness goes on.
Then pimp mommy gets a yen for a ride in the country and dumps the h and the twins in the forecourt of the H's Hall. The toddlers and the dogs take one look at each other and it is love at first sight! (At least someone is getting some love around here - tho the twins had to be corrected on the differences between a horse and a dog at first.) The H establishes that the twins' dad was a visiting businessman the h went out with to show around London. The man took her to a party one night and got her toasted and they ended the evening in bed, then the h got preggers and the client denied paternity so his wife in the US wouldn't know he had been playing around, but that doesn't matter really --cause the man died in a car wreck the year before the story starts.
The H feels that he can now set aside his prejudice against marriage and kids to shackle the h cause good estate administrators/artist models are hard to come by and the H really needs to avoid that bonus payout. But mainly she will just be helping the illegitimate half brother run Hall things since he has a business degree and the half bro and the H were able to find a golf course compromise and the H wants to do a lot of painting. So we leave the newly engaged pair looking for convenient place to hide out and cuddle up in one of the H's 95 rooms and the twins and Romulus and Remus happily paired up for life for the big HEA.
This one was okay and a nice little HP outing but it didn't have the intensity or the drama we like to expect in HPLandia. The H was rather arrogant and quick to exercise that Lordly prerogative he was so happy to denounce, and the h was fairly feisty until she got a few drinks in her. Overall this isn't one that will leave a big hole in the landscape of HPlandia if you skip it, but it won't drive you to despair or fury if you do wander across it either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2024
i thought this was a sweet story with very well-matched leads. a bit different as the heroine is a single parent and the Hero is and they realize how they complete each other.Nice family scene at the end.
May 30, 2024
This story is completely based in a manor house with very limited number of characters. Though the heroine is likeable, I couldn't like the hero. He always cribs and appears to be a loser. Also, he could not keep his hands off the heroine. All in all, it is a boring and not a worthy read.
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June 29, 2013 السيد الحب:
" هل تظنين أنك تستطيعين النجاح حيث فشل غيرك؟
أؤكد لك سيدي أنك ستجدني كفؤة في كل شئ ! "
كل شئ ؟! كان هذا تهوراً من أوليفيا , فمع رجل مثل اللورد كادوغان كان عليها توقع أي شئ, فسيد القصر رجل صعب المراس، في دمه عجرفة أسياد الماضي, وفي عينيه عبث شباب الحاضر اعتبرها اللورد, منذ دخولها قصره, أملاكاً خاصة له حق التصرف بها كما يشاء, وجرّها إلى شباك إغوائه خطوة خطوة حتى وجدت نفسها تائهة في غرف القصر المائة, ولا مهرب لها منه فهل تحميها ذكريات ماضيها؟
سكرتيره موقته في قصر
" هل تظنين أنك تستطيعين النجاح حيث فشل غيرك؟
أؤكد لك سيدي أنك ستجدني كفؤة في كل شئ ! "
كل شئ ؟! كان هذا تهوراً من أوليفيا , فمع رجل مثل اللورد كادوغان كان عليها توقع أي شئ, فسيد القصر رجل صعب المراس، في دمه عجرفة أسياد الماضي, وفي عينيه عبث شباب الحاضر اعتبرها اللورد, منذ دخولها قصره, أملاكاً خاصة له حق التصرف بها كما يشاء, وجرّها إلى شباك إغوائه خطوة خطوة حتى وجدت نفسها تائهة في غرف القصر المائة, ولا مهرب لها منه فهل تحميها ذكريات ماضيها؟
سكرتيره موقته في قصر
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