Spinster Bea Cavendish has a problem; her father has died, leaving a heavily-mortgaged estate to his only daughter. She has no idea how to run things because her domineering father felt women were to be dependent and cloistered away from the world. Things are spiraling out of control quickly and Bea has no idea how to stop it.
Scottish-American Lachlan Warwick MacTavish, while on leave from sea travel, went to see his married sister. Instead, he found two children being abused and neglected; Lachlans sister had died and her debauched husband had left the children in the care of others. MacTavish promptly took both children from the home, looking for a nanny to care for them until he could take them to Virginia.
Instead of finding the nanny he was seeking (she had recently died), MacTavish met Bea. Bea and MacTavish agree to help each other; she will help with his four-year-old nephew and infant niece. In exchange, MacTavish will teach Bea what she needs to learn about running an estate. Mac and the children will reside in a small house on the property until he sets sail again.
Mac neglects to tell Bea that he has kidnapped the children from their self-indulgent father, the Viscount Simmons. As Bea and Mac work together, their romance begins. However, there is a huge block to any real attachment: Mac intends to sail back to America and Beas intends to live out her life on her estate.
This is a charming story that moves a bit slowly; the main characters are life-like and complement each other. Their conflict mirrors the changes taking place during that time: The difference between the way things had always been done vs. the wave of the future.
A wonderful romantic read
a new tale of a victorian lady and the American who wins her heart and soul.
