Corrine refuses to marry her cousin Freddie. He's a creepy scoundrel. So, she flees in her uncle's coach boot, and gets captured by the notorious highwayman Thorn, who is a perfect gentleman, and surprise, the local clergyman. Will preaches by day, and plays Robin Hood as his alias, Thorn, by night - targeting his greedy uncle. But can he and Corrine escape the wrath of his uncle being thwarted in his power plans? ( )

Something about the heroine bothered me right from the beginning. I'll have to think about it some more. ( )

Not bad but not very good, corinne and will fall in love but she is a runaway andhe's a highwayman ( )

What's a lady to do when she doesn't want to marry the cad that her parents have picked out for her? How about stowing away in a carriage that is held up by Thorn, the local Robin Hood, getting shot by her future father-in-law's crony, being saved by Thorn, hiding out with the outlaw, and falling in love with him? If you like adventure and mystery mixed with romance, check out Cathy Maxwell's new romance, The Scandal of Seduction.

Lady Corinne Rosemont's father is making her marry Lord Freddie Sherwin despite the fact that he has already cheated on her. Even the fact that Corinne's uncle was uneasy about Lord Bossley's mysterious past in Barbados and would not let his daughter marry Freddie does not sway her father. What Freddie's father did in Barbados is of no concern to Duke Banfield. But Corinne wants more than the marriage of convenience that her parents have. She wants a husband whom she can respect and who listens to her. How does she avoid a marriage like her parent's?

She comes to the realization that she needs to do something to get out of her upcoming marriage. This feeling is reinforced at a dinner where she meets Rev. Mr. William Norwich, Lord Bossley's foster son. At dinner Freddie cruelly brings up a episode from the past where Will, a poor seminary student, asked Corinne to dance. On the way to the dance floor, he tripped and they both fell along with a maid carrying a tray full of punch cups. Will was so embarassed that he left her in the middle of the dance floor and Corinne was thereafter dubbed the ice maiden.

After dinner Corinne is in the library trying to avoid Freddie. When she hears footsteps in the hall, she hides behind the curtains. There she find Rev. Norwich, who trades places with her so that Bossley will not find her. After Will leaves, Corinne overhears Lord Bossley talking with a lieutenant. Bossley needs a package delivered by tomorrow noon and the lieutenant assures Bossley that the Thorn, the masked highwayman, will not be a problem. Another encounter with lecherous Freddie pushes Corinne to hide away in the boot of the coach carrying Lord Bossley's package. This decision leads to Corinne getting shot by the lieutenant and whisked away by the Thorn.

It turns out that the Thorn is none other than Rev. Norwich. This leads to a bargain between the two. They both need their secrets kept. He needs Corinne to keep his secret or he'll hang. She doesn't want to marry Freddie and needs a place to hide out until after the wedding date. Although he isn't very happy about it, she ends up staying at his house as his "cousin" from his mother's side. Of course, this gives them the opportunity to fall in love. Because the town's people trust Will their secrets are safe for a while until Lord Bossley finds out and all hell brakes loose. Corinne has to make a deal in order to save Will from the hangman's noose. She will marry Freddie and Will will live. But Will is on the loose and working to "save the day".

I was drawn into this unlikely couple's love story and I enjoyed how Maxwell combined intrigue, adventure, humor, and passionate romance. And I enjoyed it enough to seek out the others in the series starting with A Seduction at Christmas. ( )