Three young, wealthy titled women decide to spend the
social Season admiring the bucolic splendor of the Yorkshire Dales rather than
dodging fortune hunters and scandalmongers in London. A fine plan–until the
ladies’ traveling coach lands in a muddy ditch, and foul weather strands them
at the estate of former officer Nathanial Stratton. As luck (or Cupid?) would
have it, Nathaniel and his two friends, Kit Stirling and Greyville Trent, also
have no patience with matchmaking and romance…. or so they insist.
Duchess in the Wild - Grace Burrowes
Greyville Trent and Francesca Pomponio
Francesca has been widowed for several years. Her Italian
husband was extremely wealthy and exceedingly unfaithful. She returned to
England, where her only remaining family lives, only to be beset by fortune
hunters. She and two similarly widowed duchesses decided to leave London for
some peace. When their coach is in an accident, they are rescued by three
passing gentlemen. Francesca's rescuer is Greyville Trent, a scientist who recently
returned from an Amazonian expedition that lasted several years. He plans to
use his time at his friend's home to organize his notes and seek funding for
his next trip. He didn't count on meeting Francesca.
There were sparks between Grey and Francesca from the
moment they met. As a scientist, Grey tends to be inquisitive, and his
curiosity is aroused by Francesca and the slight air of mystery around her.
Francesca's attraction to Grey surprises her, as no one has stirred her
interest since her husband's death. I enjoyed their first evening together, as
Francesca unknowingly appropriated his supper, comments upon his notes (that
she was told not to touch), and ends up making herself quite useful to Grey. I
loved how he freely admitted that his French wasn't very good and that he is
terrible at writing letters asking for funding. Francesca's offer to help (I
loved his reaction to her first letter) opened the way to them spending their
days together. I loved their interactions as she helped him organize his notes,
both of them being plain-spoken.
They also got to know a little about each other's lives.
Grey was less than complimentary about how Francesca's husband treated her. He
is fascinated and attracted by her, but feels unable to do anything about it.
In his eyes, he has nothing to offer her. Francesca is equally outspoken as she
learns more about Grey's family. I loved her pithy comments about their lack of
support for him. She has ideas to help him, but suspects he won't accept.
I liked watching the development of their relationship.
The attraction continues to build each day that they spend together. Though she
has never done so before, Francesca decides to take advantage of her status as
a widow and propositions Grey. They connect so deeply that it scares both of
them, and they start to pull back. I ached for both of them as they each
realized their feelings, but hesitated to say anything. When the coach was
finally repaired after two weeks, the ladies left. Francesca still had one ace
up her sleeve to help the man she loved. I loved the ending, with Grey's
surprise and Francesca's intentions. I especially enjoyed it when she gave up
on her disguise and flipped back her veil to confront him.
To Tempt a Duchess - Emily Greenwood
Kit Stirling and Olivia Thorpe
Kit is an earl's heir who has a reputation for gambling
and keeping questionable company. He already regrets joining his friends in the
country as he misses the activity of his life in London. The quiet of the
countryside leaves him restless. When the three men happen upon a coach
accident with three stranded ladies, Kit takes the middle one, a Miss Olivia
Thorpe, to transport to the house.
Olivia, aka the Duchess of Coldbrook, joined her friends
for a holiday away from London. All three are tired of dodging fortune hunters
and are traveling incognito to avoid trouble. Olivia is a woman who enjoys
quiet pleasures such as long walks, reading by the fire, and the peace of the
country. She considers herself unattractive and is a little on the prim sides.
She is familiar with Kit's reputation though they have never met before.
Their initial interactions do not bode well for a
pleasant time while the ladies are stranded. Kit is a touch sarcastic in his
responses to the things she says, and sees her as a dried-up spinster with
multiple cats, living in a cottage in the country. An encounter in the library
later that evening begins the process of opening their eyes to the truth that
first impressions are not always the whole truth. I ached for Olivia, whose
fear of water revealed a vulnerability she preferred to keep hidden. Kit
surprised me a little with his patience and understanding, though he also
stayed true to his reputation with some of the things he said. I was a little
surprised by their actions, as they seemed out of character for the time.
From this point, Kit finds himself seeking out Olivia
whenever he can, ostensibly to get under her skirts again. Olivia was disturbed
by the way he made her feel and is equally determined to resist him. Sparks fly
between them as Kit pushes against her primness, and Olivia discovers that Kit
isn't quite the rogue he pretends to be. There are some moving scenes between them,
such as when Olivia cares for Kit after he hurts his ankle. I liked seeing the
changes in Kit as his time with Olivia made him take a new look at his life. I
hurt for Olivia when he told her how he felt. His reputation was tangled up with
her memories of her father, and she was afraid to trust him. I loved the steps
she inspired him to take that helped him put his past behind him. At the same
time, Olivia was able to look at her fears and admit that Kit was different. I
loved the ending and the surprise he had for her. I admit that I would like to
have seen an epilogue of Society's reaction to the pairing of Kit and Olivia.
The Love of His Life - Susanna Ives
Colonel Nathaniel Stratton and Mary Alice Pymworth
This was the most emotional of the three stories. Mary
Alice is a widow with three children, the youngest of whom is autistic. She
loved her late husband deeply and still grieves for him. She reluctantly
allowed her two friends to talk her into going on holiday with them but felt
guilty about leaving her children. The fates seem to agree with her when the
coach is involved in an accident. Three passing gentlemen stop to offer
assistance. Mary Alice's friends each leave with one of the men, leaving Mary
Alice to be rescued by the last man. She is horrified when she discovers that
her rescuer in Colonel Stratton, the same man whose cruelty made her first
season miserable.
Nathaniel knows he deserves every ounce of the disdain
that Mary Alice throws at him. In his younger years, he was an arrogant,
entitled rogue who went along with his friends when they behaved badly. Then Nathaniel
joined the war against Napoleon. The things that he saw and experienced
destroyed that arrogance and made him ashamed of who he had been. Then he
discovered that he had an illegitimate daughter. Horrified by the conditions he
found her in, he took her home to his country estate. Finding Mary Alice in the
wrecked coach brought him full circle to face his past.
Mary Alice's anger when she recognized her rescuer was
completely understandable. Unfortunately for her, he was her only option for
rescue, especially considering she was injured. I was impressed with
Nathaniel's patience and his belief that her attitude was justified. I ached
for him as he realized the seriousness of her injuries, as he saw many head
injuries during the war. His fear for her was evident, and I liked his
determination to save her. His apology to her for his past actions was
emotional, and his confession of his reasons was surprising. Though she tried
to maintain her anger, Mary Alice couldn't help but be moved by his sincerity.
As Mary Alice and the others settled in to wait for their
coach to be repaired, she had the chance to spend more time with Nathaniel. He previously
witnessed her love and patience with her youngest daughter, Anna, and begged
for her help with his daughter. Eleanor had suffered through terrible abuse before
he found her, and Nathaniel has a hard time trying to break through the walls
around the little girl's heart. He won my heart with gentleness and patience.
It was so sweet to see how she opened up when introduced to Mary Alice's story
world, and the joy it brought to Nathaniel's heart.
As they spent time together, the love he had always felt
for Mary Alice continued to grow. He desperately wanted to have her and her
children in his life. Mary Alice's
feelings for him were changing and growing, but the strength of those feelings
scared her. She also felt guilty because she had loved her husband, and loving
Nathaniel felt like she was betraying Jonas. I liked the advice she received
from her friend Francesca, but overcoming her fears was difficult. I liked that
Nathaniel gave her the time she asked for, and ached for him when it seemed
like all was lost. The ending was a nail-biter as young Anna disappeared. I
loved Nathaniel's level-headed response and following his method of finding her.
The ending was heartwarming and beautifully described.
I enjoyed all three stories very much. There were a few
inconsistencies among them, which grated a little but did not dim my enjoyment
by much.
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