Long-lost love…
Newfound heir!
Richard, the Earl of Farnleigh, believed he had lost his
sweetheart, Hetty, forever. Amid the carnage of the Peninsular War, she was
torn from his arms, thought dead. But now she's back on his doorstep -- with
their two-year-old child!
Thinking Richard had abandoned her, pregnant Hetty became
trapped in a joyless marriage to a cruel man. Now a widow, she's finally free
-- but alone, vulnerable and penniless. Richard is her only hope for refuge.
They're bound by their son, and an undeniable connection, but when they both
bear the scars of the past, is a rekindled romance more than she can promise?
Good story about two survivors of the Peninsular War. Hetty
is an Englishwoman, married to a soldier. Six months earlier, her husband
disappeared in battle and is presumed dead. Left with no way to return to
England, she has been serving as a nurse for one of the doctors in a small town
in Portugal to earn enough money to go home. As the story opens, she has been
tasked with triaging the wounded - deciding whose wounds can wait, who needs to
be seen quickly, and who is beyond saving. She comes across a colonel with a
leg wound that will almost certainly result in amputation. His determination to
avoid that fate impresses her.
Richard is the fourth son of an earl and has made a
career of his time in the Army. As the story opens, he has achieved the rank of
colonel. He is also among the wounded of the latest battle, suffering from a
sword slash to his leg. Though in great pain, he refuses laudanum, determined to
remain in control and prevent amputation. He senses a sympathetic soul in the
nurse.
The book's prologue shows the growing friendship between
Richard and Hetty as she supervises his recovery. I liked how they shared their
pasts. Over the weeks of his recovery, Richard realizes he loves her. As the
fourth son of an earl, marriage to her is easily possible. A kiss cements their
attraction. The next thing we see is Richard waiting for Hetty to get off work
so he can propose to her. Word comes that the village is under attack, and
Richard races off to lead his men.
It is then three years later. Hetty and her two-and-a-half-year-old
son travel to Northumberland and Richard's family. The past three years have
been miserable. Her husband wasn't dead, but deserted, and returned to claim
her. Abusive, especially after he found her pregnant with Richard's child, he
made her life with him difficult. When he died, she was once again alone with
no resources. She planned to ask Richard's brother for help, despite believing
that Richard had abandoned her in Portugal.
Imagine both their shock when Hetty arrived to discover
that Richard is now the earl. Richard thought she was dead, and her appearance
on his doorstep sent shockwaves through him, matched only by his shock at the
little boy with her. He immediately accepts that the child is his and takes
both into his home. His joy in little Noah's presence made me smile. There are
some sweet scenes with them together. But there is no immediate joyful reunion
between Hetty and Richard. She feels bitterness and resentment over what she
saw as his abandonment. Richard doesn't understand why she never tried to
contact him. There is no "Thank God, you're alive. Let's get married as we
planned." Instead, a cautious partnership develops.
Hetty has no intention of marrying again. Still
traumatized by her marriage, allowing another man that close isn't an option.
With Richard now being an earl, her insecurities also make it impossible for
her to see marriage as a possibility. Richard, having already lost so many
people, can't picture himself risking his heart again. However, as the story
progresses and they work together on his project, each finds themselves
healing, accepting that their past experiences changed them, and opening
themselves up to the possibility of a future together.
The epilogue was a good wrap-up for the story and showed
how Richard and Hetty's life together had progressed.
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