An adventure story needs a few motivated villains.

But what constitutes villainy?

In a Regency Era Tale of adventure and intrigue, villains of various types must feature, to thwart the efforts of the well-meaning characters and twist events to their own evil ends.

Whether through misfortune, cravings for power and wealth, or fanatical political ideals, each villain has a particular reason for their mindset and actions. Some start out as perfectly legitimate positions.

However, being dedicated to a Cause often means being blind to any other point of view. Thus the angry, stubborn fanatic behaves in a way that defines him or her as a villain. Torture, mutilation and murder are sometimes part of the job.

Another type of villainy comes from selfishness and pure greed.

Lord Percival loves money and has several villainous ways of adding to his wealth.

Good-looking, sharp-dressed, suave and arrogant, he attracts impressionable young men into his hard-living circle. They tend to lose large sums of money to him. Among others, he has ruined our heroine’s brother and wants Sarah as payment of the debt.

And of course in a Regency tale worth its salt there have to be Rakes.

So in The Rake's Challenge, among other villains there are four Rakes on the prowl. Two are brothers, young and enjoying life. One is [ahem] the Prince Regent and then there is Sir Bilton Kelly, whose job is to find pretty young ladies to entertain the Prince.

There is also the diamond-loving Sophia, the discarded mistress, determined to win her lover back. She really knows how to play dirty to achieve her aims.