Almost destitute
When she inherits a fortune!
The will that sees Aurelia Croome become wealthy forbids
her from marrying the new Lord Tregowan. That wouldn't be a concern if the only
man to catch Aurelia's eye during her first Season wasn't Maximilian Penrose --
Lord Tregowan! Why is it that no one else has Max's honor, wit or tantalizing
good looks? The specter of being poor again haunts her -- but the thought of
sacrificing passion for comfort is just as terrifying!
Terrific conclusion to the series. The book opens as
Aurelia discovers the existence of two half-sisters and an unexpected
inheritance. The news of the inheritance comes as a great relief as Aurelia contemplates
selling herself to keep body and soul together. As she has no affairs to get in
order, she intends to go directly to London and begin to fulfill the
requirements of the will: spend the Season in London, marry by the end of the
Season, and stay away from the new Lord Tregowan.
The latter proves to be the most difficult. She first
encountered Max at the lawyer's office the day she learned of her inheritance -
and that Max had been disinherited. We see Max's bewilderment and bitterness as
he'd counted on those funds to help his estate. Though Aurelia knows who he is,
Max has no idea that the woman he nearly knocked over was one of those at the
root of his problems. Complicating matters, they shared the same mail-coach on
the way to London, giving Aurelia the chance to get to know him a little bit. Shared
food and a little conversation, and it's easy to see that a connection formed
between them.
I liked both Aurelia and Max. Aurelia had a difficult
childhood, her mother having been married off to the first man who would take
her after she became pregnant by her employer. Her "father" was a
wastrel who ran through the money he was paid and took out his resentment on Aurelia
and her mother. It's no surprise that she has a poor opinion of "gentlemen"
and vows never to marry one. Early on, it is evident that Aurelia is forthright,
feisty, and practical. Having been barely scraping by for so long, she is
determined to do nothing to put her inheritance at risk. I enjoyed her arrival
in London and watching her settle into her new life. There are some amusing
instances as she and her chaperone, Mrs. Butterby, butt heads over what is
deemed suitable. I liked seeing Aurelia stand up for the things that are
important to her. During this time, she has a few more encounters with Max, even
after she confesses to the prohibition that keeps them apart. As an heiress,
Aurelia draws a great deal of attention from the eligible men, but she is
unimpressed by any of them. Most of them live down to her expectations.
Unfortunately, the only one who appeals she can't have.
Max is a terrific man. He is intelligent, handsome, and
honorable. He is also caught in a difficult situation. Because his father was
an inveterate gambler, Max was stuck with a crumbling estate and nothing to
support it with. Lady Tregowan had promised that he would inherit when she
passed, so he took out a loan on those expectations, attempting to repair his
home and bring the mine that supports it back into production. Losing the
inheritance was a bitter blow, especially as his mother and sister are due to
arrive any time. He has no choice but to make a practical marriage, which goes
against everything he wants and believes in. I had to laugh at Max's
conversations with his friend Simon (who needs his own story!) as Simon does
everything he can to help Max find the right dowry to marry.
I ached for Max and Aurelia, whose feelings for each
other continued to grow despite their best efforts to ignore them. The sparks
between them grow stronger, too, and harder to resist. Max is a little more honest
about his feelings and willing to consider giving up the quest for a rich wife
to have the woman he wants. But Aurelia fears going back to the days of
uncertainty and hunger and remembers the resentment that the lack of funds
created in her stepfather. It takes a great deal of soul-searching and advice
from a surprising source before Aurelia makes a final decision.
The epilogue was terrific, and I loved seeing all three
couples together. It also brought the threads of all three books together to
form the final picture of how everything worked out. While I wasn't surprised
by what happened, I loved seeing how it was done.
One of the things I thoroughly enjoyed about this series
was how the stories took place simultaneously. Many events were the same but
told from the perspective of that book's heroine and through that heroine's own
experiences.
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