He wished to never see her again
Now he wishes she'll stay…
Lord Grantwell hasn't seen Lillian Pearson since she
betrayed him years ago. So when she arrives on his doorstep looking for
sanctuary, he's not inclined to offer it! But when the two orphaned children in
his care ask if she can stay for Christmas, how can he refuse? Grant and
Lillian discover an intense attraction still simmers between them, and Grant
starts to wonder if he has done her a grave injustice…
Excellent second chance love story. Grant, who we first
met in Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo as Rhys's best friend, returned to
England after the death of his brother. With Rhys as his estate manager, Grant
slowly settles into his new role as Viscount Grantwell, including becoming the
guardian of two young children, William and Anna. As the book opens, the butler
announces a woman there for the governess position. He is shocked to see
Lillian, the woman who'd betrayed him years earlier in Portugal.
Lillian is there for sanctuary, not employment. Accused
of murdering her Portuguese husband, she is fleeing her vengeful brother-in-law.
Out of money and out of options, she desperately hopes Grant will hide her for
a short time, despite how they parted.
The intensity of the situation immediately sucked me into
the story. Grant's renewed feelings of anger and betrayal, Lillian's feelings
of desperation and hope, and the presence of a snowstorm combined into an
emotional opening. Seeing Lillian again brought everything back to Grant, and
he wanted to toss her right back out of the door. But despite those feelings,
he couldn’t bring himself to do that, so he offered to let her stay until the
roads cleared. At the same time he remembers her betrayal, he also remembers
the good times together, creating an internal struggle. Lillian can't believe
that Grant still believes her capable of betraying him and their country. Nothing
said then or now convinces him that he's wrong. But she's grateful for refuge
from the storm and the chance to evade her pursuers. She'll worry about the next
step when the storm is over.
When Lillian encounters the children on her way to her
room, they immediately take to each other. Utterly bewildered on what to do
with them, Grant willingly turns their care over to Lillian. Grant finds
himself drawn into Lillian's attempts to give the children a Christmas as
they've never had before. The more time he spends with her, the harder it is to
remember her betrayal. I loved seeing Grant's anger start to fade as he saw
Lillian's good-hearted attempts to help the children. I enjoyed seeing the return
of their former ease with each other, though I wanted to shake Grant every time
he reminded himself of the past. Another thing that hadn't changed was the attraction
that still burned between them, creating another layer of complications.
The suspense created by Lillian's pursuers hovered in the
background throughout the book as she worried about them finding her. Between
the question of who really killed Lillian's husband and what actually happened
that day back in Portugal, I was anxious to see if the truth would be revealed.
While the truth about the murder turned out to be no surprise at all, I didn't
see the resolution of the spying charge coming. The final confrontation was a
nail-biter, and I loved the children's part in the solution. I would have liked
to see a little groveling on Grant's part for his lack of faith in Lillian. The
epilogue was fantastic. I loved seeing what a difference a year made in their
lives.
One of the things I enjoyed was the inclusion of the
era's Christmas traditions. Many of them still exist in one form or another
today, and I liked seeing them in context. I loved how the author used those
traditions to bring four hurting and lonely people together. I would like to
have learned more about the children's background and why they were mistreated
by those who should have loved them.
The secondary characters were terrific. From the servants
to Rhys and Helene, everyone had unique personalities and roles. I had to laugh
at the interplay between the cook and Grant over their memories of him as a
boy. I also enjoyed seeing Rhys point out that Grant behaved like a man in
love, and Helene reach out in friendship to Lillian.
Now he wishes she'll stay…
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