"Charming tale of love and loss in Regency England"
Alasdair MacLachlan was the poster boy of a Regency London
rake. Handsome, rich and charming, he coasted through life
with little care and in the company of his brother and best
friends. But the easy, carefree life came to a screeching
end one stormy night when Esmee Hamilton showed up on his
doorstep with his baby daughter. Esmee Hamilton was young, beautiful, and faced with a
basket-full of problems that no woman her age should have
to bear. Her mother had recently passed away, leaving Esmee
in charge of her infant sister, Sorcha. When Esmee's
Scottish stepfather found out that the young child was not
his, he kicked the two sisters out into the cold to fend
for themselves. Esmee had no other choice than to track
down Sorcha's father and appeal to him to take them in. She
knows that MacLachlan has a reputation for being a
scoundrel, but she is determined to make sure he lives up
to his responsibilities in regards to little Sorcha, even
if it means compromising her own standing in society to
stay with her sister. Faced with the prospects of raising a daughter who has
been, in essence, dumped on his doorstep, Alasdair engages
the services of Esmee to stay and be the child's governess.
As the two struggle to learn how to raise a hard-headed,
but charming child, Alasdair soon finds that he is
attracted to his daughter's big sister. When Esmee's aunt, the prim and proper Lady Tatton, shows
up, dismayed to find her niece living in the same house as
the scandalous Sir MacLachlan. No matter that Esmee was
there to help with Sorcha, and no matter that Alasdair
didn't want her to leave, Lady Tatton removes Esmee with
the hope that she can find her a proper husband and restore
her damaged reputation. But Esmee's heart was already taken
by the man she presumes to be her little sister's father.
Can she trust her heart to the man who supposed to be such
a scoundrel? Love has a funny way of working itself out in
all types of situations, especially impossible ones like
this. Liz Carlyle, author of "One Little Sin," takes her readers
on a trip to Regency England with this charming tale of
love and loss. With surprising twists and turns, Carlyle
keeps the excitement pumped up throughout the story and the
readers will enjoy each and every page of this lively tale.
Reviewed by Sharon Galligar Chance
Posted September 16, 2005
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