A soldier burdened by guilt…
…to the future Earl of Foxgrove?
Captain Lucas Johns-Ives is injured in the same battle
that killed his brother. Haunted by loss, Lucas is saved by Mairi Wallace. In
this Highland idyll, masquerading as her family's butler, Lucas can avoid the
responsibilities of becoming the new earl. He's tempted by Mairi's sweetness --
but to win her hand, he must face his demons and claim his noble birthright…
Good story about two people with painful pasts who find
love and healing with each other. Lucas was devastated by his brother's death
at Waterloo and consumed by the guilty feeling that he should have been able to
save Bradleigh. Unable to face taking his brother's place as heir to the
earldom, Lucas wanders aimlessly through Scotland, drinking his way from inn to
inn while trying to forget. Ill and passed out near some standing stones Lucas
is found by the younger children of Baron Dunham, who fetch their older sister
for help. They take Lucas to their home to nurse him back to health.
Mairi is at her wit's end, trying to keep her family from
financial ruin. The last thing she wants is a strange Englishman to take care
of, especially one who reminds her of a devastating incident that happened
several years earlier. That incident has had a significant impact on Mairi's
life and the way she looks at the world.
There is a connection between Lucas and Mairi from the
start, though both of them try to resist it. As Lucas recovers from his illness,
he has a front-row seat to Mairi's efforts to save her family. Impressed by
what he sees and unexpectedly compelled to help, Lucas conceals who he really
is as he does what he can. Though Mairi is suspicious and wary at first, she finds
herself trusting Lucas. Lucas is drawn further into the lives of the family as
he plays the part of a servant to help them out of an awkward situation. I
ached for Mairi whose efforts are unappreciated by her family and felt her
frustration at her parents' attitudes. I loved Lucas's support of her, and his attempts
to show them the truth.
Matters become more complicated when the visitors include
a man with a hidden agenda. Hargreaves is a wealthy man who has designs on their
land and title and who will do anything to get it. When he also attends the
same house party as the Dunhams, Lucas's protective instincts are aroused. I
liked seeing Mairi and Lucas grow closer and loved how they opened up to each
other about their pasts. Lucas knows he has to come clean with Mairi about who
he is, especially when someone at the party recognizes him. When matters take a
turn for the worse, Lucas must decide if he's ready to face his past and his
responsibilities. I ached for Mairi as she faced a miserable future. I was on
the edge of my seat as I wondered how long it would take Lucas to come to his
senses. I must say, he came through in a stellar manner in a very exciting scene.
The epilogue was good too.
I liked the secondary characters also. From Mairi's
family to the servants, they all added complexity to the story. Mairi's brother
and sister were realistic in their sibling disagreements and their often
obliviousness to what went on around them. I wanted to shake her parents on
multiple occasions because of their utter unwillingness to face the truth of
their circumstances and their attitudes toward Mairi as she tried to help. I
liked seeing some of the story from the servants' side of things and the look
at what their lives were like. Their respect for Lucas said a lot about the
kind of man he was.
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