Oh good lord! I don't think I've read The Headmistress, but now I quite want to, just to see if it's any less terrible in context.

Heyer is still enjoyable but the more I read the more those bits stand out. I quite like relationships written where it's not all true love and soppiness, but the line between that and jovial threats of violence isn't at all thin, it's about 54 point, and in bold.