Just as Barclay Howard declares himself finished with the
idea of true love and in pursuit of the more pragmatic “free love,” he is
thrust into another sort of commitment: guardian to his little nephew. Barclay
hasn’t a clue about children and now must quickly relocate to his family
estate. But when he is swept up in the raid of a free love gathering and jailed
with a lovely, cultured, innocent bystander, things become more complicated—or
perhaps simpler . . .
Norah Capshaw was fleeing a brute when she found herself
swept into a lecture hall, jailed, and jobless. Without a penny or a relative
to her name, she has sworn never rely on others, much less look for a hero. But
she can’t resist Barclay’s offer of a position as tutor to his nephew. In fact,
despite her distrustful nature, it’s hard to resist Barclay. Soon, with their
attraction growing, and a mysterious man still following her, the two embark on
a journey into the southern uplands of Scotland—and into the heart of a great
love neither expected . . .
A fun book to read. The story opens as Barclay gives up
on the traditional round of balls and so on to find a wife. Described as
"a beast of a man," Barclay is tall, broad-shouldered, and can have an
intimidating air about him. He does not fare well in Society's ballrooms, as
the current crop of debutantes looks down on him and treats him badly. Instead,
he attends a lecture on "free love" that changes his life. In
addition to his courtship woes, Barclay finds out that his grandfather has
died, leaving him as guardian to the new Earl, a six-year-old boy.
Norah Capshaw is an orphan whose guardian recently died,
leaving her with no family or support. She has a job as a tutor for adults that
barely makes ends meet. When we first see Norah, she has snuck into the
"free love" lecture to escape a man following her. A raid by the
local constabulary shortly follows the arrival of her pursuer. Norah is stunned
when she is accosted by a man claiming to be rescuing her and fights back,
saying she needs no help. Both are promptly arrested and thrown in jail.
This was a different kind of introduction between the two
characters. Barclay tries to be gallant and gets his efforts thrown back in his
face by a stubbornly independent Norah. He writes off the encounter, only to
see her again in another set of dire circumstances, where he again attempts to
help her. By this point, I was a bit frustrated by Norah's intransigence. The
third blow came when she found her belongings had been searched and her pursuer
seen again. She accepted Barclay's assistance this time, though she wasn't very
gracious about it. I loved how Barclay found a way for them to help each other.
He offers her a job as a tutor to his cousin, getting her out of London and helping
him with the boy.
I liked Barclay. He's a good man who has had a rough go
of life through no fault of his own. His favorite book is Ivanhoe which
influences many of his actions. As each bit of his past was revealed, I was amazed
at how well he turned out. I had a little more trouble warming up to Norah. Just
as so many others did, she seemed to judge him by his appearance and expect the
worst of him. That slowly changed as she got to know him.
There is a brief interlude in York, where they go to
begin Barclay's guardianship of young Elias. There are some funny and heartbreaking
moments as the mischievous and undisciplined youngster quickly works his way
into their hearts. This also gives Norah time to investigate her few
possessions from her parents and discover a previously unknown family member. The
meeting does not go as Norah hoped, and Barclay's protective instincts are
aroused. Their decision to go to Scotland to investigate further was no
surprise.
This part of the book was full of family found,
unexpected secrets, a mysterious treasure, and danger tying it all together. I loved
the joy and acceptance Norah found in Scotland. The MacFerguses were a fantastic
group, and I enjoyed getting to know them. Things got a little crazy when they
revealed the truth about the treasure—Barclay's horror over the legalities contrasted
with their belief that they were doing nothing wrong. The tension increased
when Norah's pursuers grew close. I loved that Norah came up with a plan that
would solve several problems at once. The final confrontation became a nail-biter
when the plan didn't go quite as expected, but I loved how it turned out.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Barclay and Norah. He was taken with her from the first time he saw her, though
their first few meetings were antagonistic. Norah was attracted from the start
but was also wary of him. I liked Barclay's protectiveness, even when she
wasn't appreciative of it. I was happy when Norah finally started to see past Barclay's
exterior to the man inside. There were still a few clashes, such as dealing
with Elias's behavior. There are some sweet moments when Norah relies on Barclay's
strength, and you can see her heart softening. The fun begins when they hit
Scotland, and their time together is less regimented. The attraction between
them continued to grow, as did their feelings. With danger bearing down, I had
to laugh at Barclay's non-proposal and promise for later. He came through in a
unique manner. The ending was sweet, romantic, and fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment