April Lady
April Lady is a Regency romance by Georgette Heyer, published in 1957 by Heinemann in the UK and by Putnam in the US. Previously serialised in the Woman's Journal as “My Lady Cardross”, the new novel was Heyer’s forty-fourth book and her fifteenth Regency novel. Plot The story is set in 1813. Helen (Nell) Irvine, daughter of the late Viscount Pevensey, has recently been married at the age of 18 to the significantly older Giles Merrion, Earl of Cardross, and has thus rescued her family from the impoverishment brought about by her father's gambling debts and then her brother’s irregular lifestyle. It had really been a love match on both sides, but owing to the stupidity of her mother's advice, Nell has hidden her feelings from him. An added complication is that Cardross has formerly had Lady Orsett as a mistress, a matter which neither feels able to discuss with the other. Both have incorrigible siblings who complicate their relations. Nell's brother Dysart is a drunken gambler whose wild behaviour places him on the shady side of the law. Nell has secretly lent him more money than was wise and now has difficulty in meeting her own exorbitant expenditure. Also