A Secret Affair (Huxtable Quintet #5) by Mary Balogh (2010)

A fine end to a terrific series. 

After her year of mourning, Hannah Reid, the Duchess of Dunbarton, has decided to take a lover: Constantine Huxtable, the veritable devil of the ton. It will not be her first lover, if gossip is to be believed. She’s a fickle woman who tosses aside her playthings after a mere week or two. She’s the widow of a man three times her age and was constantly surrounded by men eager to be her cicisebo. The choice of Constantine Huxtable is quite scandalous. He is a dangerous man after all.

When Constantine is approached by Hannah, he’s intrigued. It’s obvious what she wants and he decides to play along. Things proceed according to plan for about a day. Because neither he nor the Duchess are quite what they seem. I’d love to expose their secrets, but I’m not one to write spoilers. 

After 4 books, we finally get to know the man who, at the open of the first book, said a heart-wrenching goodbye to the grave of his beloved brother and rode away. Con has been a constant character throughout the series, a dark protector of his cousins, an enigma because he seems to care and shouldn’t. Stephen inherited the Earldom of Merton, a title that should have been his, if he had just waited 3 days to be born. Of course, he should hate him, them, and yet he doesn’t. Con admits that he did hate them before he knew them but his cousins are impossible to hate. And so he doesn’t. We get to know the truth behind the horrible fight between Con and Elliott, what really happened to the family jewels, what Con is doing on the estate he bought, where he got the money for it, and whether or not he truly is the blackguard that society believes he is.

Even though this is the last book, I feel satisfied at the end. Like any of the other spouses, Hannah is a worthy addition to the Huxtable clan. The clan figures prominently in this book, as it has with the rest of the quintet. Like all the rest of our couples, she has wounds and secrets and is able to grow beyond them, not just through knowing Con, but all of the Huxtable family. Life got her ready for them and for finding love at last. And just like Con, she is a woman who wears a disguise and who loves deeply. By the end of the book, thankfully, neither one has to hide who they are anymore. 

You’ll be happy to know, even though I’m sure you expect, that Constantine and Elliot finally resolve their feud and get back to being the brothers that they were for most of their lives. Balogh doesn’t take the easy way out in that conversation and it’s much appreciated. It’s true to their characters and doesn’t just have them apologizing and going on as if it never happened. It doesn’t take place until we’re far into the book, but it does take place at the right time in the story.

This was a really emotional read for me, but from the beginning, Con’s story has made me emotional. It isn’t a bad thing. The biggest thing that sticks out to me from this story, from the entire series, is how we need to be brave enough to be ourselves and brave enough to love. With her usual skill, Balogh strikes just the right chord. The characters and their fears are very relatable and it’s not the easiest journey to their HEA. Like the rest of the series, this is not a clean read, but like the last book, it’s lighter on the sex than you’d think it would be (which I appreciate). At the center of it all is the idea of family, not just the ones you’re born with, but also the ones that you pick up along the way. And even if our father... parents... family... are right b********, that doesn’t mean that we’re doomed to have a rotten life. The legacy of our parents does not have to be our future. That, along with Con and Hannah’s hidden lives, is why I give it 5/5 stars.