An arrogant lord cut-off by his family. A penniless widow in desperate need. In their reduced circumstances, can love save them both?
Lord Neil Duncan, third son of the Marquess of Alderton, finally angers his father enough to be cut off from the family. Neil believes it is only a matter of time before he is reinstated, but time is passing slowly and he needs to eat. His so-called friends have abandoned him, no one else trusts him, and it is not until he comes upon a young widow that he finds someone who needs his help as badly as he needs hers.
Teresa Clapham has been without a husband's provision and protection for over a year. Supporting her mother and daughter on the pittance her brother-in-law provides has required her to stretch every farthing. When Lord Neil arrives at her doorstep proposing he work for her to earn his keep, she sees possibility in the man everyone else has deemed an arrogant good-for-nothing.
As Lord Neil works for the first time in his life, Teresa sees in him a tender heart long repressed by his family's expectations - a heart that causes her own to open once more. But her brother-in-law Frederick Clapham is less charmed by Teresa’s new servant. When Lord Neil discovers the secret Mr. Clapham has been keeping, he must decide whether to embrace the man Teresa believes him to be, or fall back on the privileged lifestyle he’s always known.
My Review
Even though Lord Neil played the villain in the first book of the series, Rescuing Lord Inglewood, in the fourth book, Engaging Sir Isaac, he started to grow on me when he proved himself a friend to Millicent. I was thrilled to learn that he'd get his own story where he is the hero! He experiences a jarring transition from total dependence on his father to complete independence- and all the responsibility that comes with it. At first glance he doesn't seem like he would be able to provide for himself, but his newfound humility combined with memories of manual labor as punishments in his youth give him the determination to be useful and no longer a freeloader. I appreciated that while he discovers the satisfaction of a hard day's work, the author realistically portrayed his mental and physical struggles as he becomes accustomed to the lifestyle of a farmhand. The compassion and friendship Teresa and her family offer are priceless to him and his self confidence grows with Teresa's belief in him and reassurances that he is a good man, that this is his true nature despite who he was before. Even with the lovely attraction that blooms between them, Teresa doesn't feel ready for a romantic relationship, especially with someone who is only a temporary presence in her life. She is still working through complicated feelings of grief for her beloved husband, who her brother-in-law claims drained her resources with a secret gambling problem. I loved the protective nature of Neil when he becomes the champion of Teresa against her brother-in-law. His character goes through a complete 180 with what he values in life and that change in perspective opens his future up wide to something he never would have imagined. A wonderful story of redemption and my new favorite villain-turned-hero!
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