Stories about countesses are few, and this is one of the more unusual period romances for another reason. The Age of Enlightenment is being thrust upon people who don't necessarily wish to see it, and Violet Waterfield attends scientific lectures, as many ladies do. THE COUNTESS CONSPIRACY however means that the man presenting the lecture is only voicing the work of Violet, Countess of Cambury. In 1867 for Violet to have written treatises on mating and evolution would be scandalous.

Sebastian Malheur, who unwillingly presents the work as his own, is also taking all the reproach. He's godfather to his young nephew, and it's clear that his brother's heart is weakened. Sebastian would like to be appointed guardian to the boy, but he has neither title nor trade to support himself. Violet has been paying him, and if he leaves her work he loses that income. By remaining single he's chalked up quite a rake's reputation and Violet decides it would be unwise to introduce her niece Amanda to him; the girl is enjoying her first Season and hopes for a good match... but not too soon. Married life seems so unadventurous.

Violet has an autocratic mother who helped her two untitled girls to excellent marriages with her strict rules of deportment and speech. The characters are excellently portrayed with a great deal of contrast, reminding me of a Jane Austen book at times. Violet's greenhouse system of cross-pollination and recording of her observations leave us in no doubt of her rigorous methods. Another scientist tells Sebastian that more than a few men are greatly aided by their wives during research, and a couple may be considered as one entity, so the men are entirely guileless in calling the research their own. Sebastian however has no hopes of wedding the widowed Countess. After her elderly husband died, she never showed interest in any man.

With mentions of fashions and new aniline dyes, Courtney Milan skilfully blends female trivia of the times with botanical laboratory work. I highly commend her delightful story THE COUNTESS CONSPIRACY as a tale of intelligent women in an age when women were not allowed to be intelligent, and their advancement of scientific discovery.

The author's note mentions Rosalind Franklin, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA for which Crick and Watson were awarded the Nobel Prize. I am seriously impressed by Courtney Milan's adult romance and will be looking out for more books in the Brothers Sinister series.

Book Summary

Sebastian Malheur is the most dangerous sort of rake: an educated one. When he’s not scandalizing ladies in the bedchamber, he’s outraging proper society with his scientific theories. He’s desired, reviled, acclaimed, and despised—and he laughs through it all.

Violet Waterfield, the widowed Countess of Cambury, on the other hand, is entirely respectable, and she’d like to stay that way. But Violet has a secret that is beyond ruinous, one that ties her irrevocably to England’s most infamous scoundrel: Sebastian’s theories aren’t his. They’re hers.

So when Sebastian threatens to dissolve their years-long conspiracy, she’ll do anything to save their partnership...even if it means opening her vulnerable heart to the rake who could destroy it for good