Sophie, the Duchess of Calton, became a widow when her beloved husband, Garrett, died during a battle at Waterloo.  After seven years of mourning, she decides to move on with her life by marrying her long-time best friend, Tristan, Garrett’s cousin. Having also assumed Garrett’s title and home by inheritance, Tristan becomes a loving husband as good or better than Sophie ever could have dreamed.

Her dream is shattered, however, when Garrett mysteriously returns (at an extremely inopportune moment) to reclaim all that was his.  Having suffered from amnesia all those years because of a head injury, he recalls enough of his life and love to want Sophie back most of all. Now Sophie finds herself torn between her first love (Garrett) and her newer love (Tristan), both of whom were an integral part of her happy childhood.

As if choosing between two lovers weren’t difficult enough, Sophie must confront the fact that Garrett might be suffering from a physical or mental condition that eventually leads to madness, that one of his most trusted assistants might not be so trustworthy, and that the two children she’s been raising with Tristan could suffer emotional damage from the quarreling between the troubled threesome.  Tensions mount until violence erupts at every turn.

Jennifer Haymore creates three passionate central characters in A Hint of Wicked.   The title refers to Sophie’s sexual fantasies, which seem to clash with her outwardly proper appearance.  As the story evolves, readers may easily guess the outcome—but it’s certainly fun getting to that ending.  This book is slightly unusual for a historical romance because the extra suitor isn’t merely added as a contrivance to complicate the plot; this story truly revolves around Sophie’s simultaneous love for two men.