Lord Maxwell Trent - A scholar, antiquarian, traveler, archeologist—A Regency Era relic hunter.
He is the second son of Lord Jonas Trent, Marquess Hopkins and Heloise Billaud, and carries the unofficial title of the spare. Max is quite happy with the order of his birth and never wanted to be the heir, as he knew before he was ever out of short pants that he did not want to have the title nor the responsibility of being the next marquess. And, if we are being completely honest, he breathed a sigh of relief when his brother, Tristan (The Forgotten Marquess ~ The “Other” Trents) was blessed with an heir of his own. Max also secretly hopes that Tristan will have more sons, pushing him further away from the title.
Following Maxwell’s arrival in this world came his twin brother, Gideon (Kissing the Lass ~ Scot to the Heart Series). Perhaps the order of their birth was a sign of their future. While Gideon is more settled and enjoys staying in England, and penning novels, it was Maxwell who wished to venture out into the world.
Max is a lover of history but assumed that his future was that of a fellow at Oxford or Harvard, teaching what he loved most. His father, however, hoped that Max and Gideon would follow in his footsteps and work in the Home Office, spying on France on behalf of England. The twins did attempt to do so. However, Gideon was soon captured by the French, which led to the need to rescue him, and both determining that neither were suited for the life of espionage.
Two life changing decisions occurred during this time. The first, their younger sister, Sophia*, secretly traveled to France because she did want to be a spy too. There, she met a spy of her own, fell in love, married, and moved to Italy.
The second decision was the one that Max made. He didn’t want to return to England to study antiquities found by others, and only read about history in the pages of a book. He wanted his own adventures and to make his own discoveries and set out on a journey that took him to excavations in Pompeii, Greece, Egypt, just to name a few, and has sought missing antiquities on his own. Max soon earned a reputation for locating and retrieving that which had been stolen and returning it to the rightful owner, and for following rumors of relics discovered by others. At one time he’d given found religious antiquities to the Vatican but halted that practice after a short time as he believed that any antiquity discovered should remain within the country in which it was found as they were the rightful owner.
Though others have often sought the same relic as he, only one has ever been a thorn in his side—Miss Rosemary Fairview, who also happens to be one of his sisters’ dearest friends.
*Sophia’s story has not been written yet, but you can read more about her and Rosemary in the Wiggons’ School for Elegant Young Ladies series.
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