This book has four of Carla Kellys short stories; I believe it is a reissue. I found each of these stories to be wonderful; each one better than the last.

The Light Within In an effort to warn Thomas Waggoners squandering brothers paramour about his insolvency, he approaches the wrong woman. Blessing Whittier is a Quaker widow in England trying to get proof that her husband and father-in-law were killed on their ship as an act of war.

A Hasty Marriage An aristocratic spinster, Ann Utley, ran away from home because she did not want to marry a man who was about to propose to her. While visiting in Portsmouth, she met a widowed American sea captain and his daughter. Capt. Hiram Titus was in a hurry to leave because the rumblings of war were all over the dock; he must leave before his ship is confiscated.

Something New It is to be the marriage of the year; then the groom and best man (a Scotsman artillery major) arrives with a four year-old orphan in tow. Everyone in the wedding group thinks that the orphan should be dropped off at an orphanage except the widow of a naval captain, Audrey Winkle.

The Background Man Charles Mortimer was once a clerk for the East India Company. He also fought beside Beau Wellington in India. For his efforts, Charles came down with malaria. Now he is the manager of a posh hotel; he works 7 days a week because his life is so dull. One day, Miss Carrington comes to his hotel and turns Charles life upside down.

All of these stories are charming. Generally, they take place in upper-class homes; most of the heroines are widows and the men are usually ex-military. Again, they are common folk who do extraordinary things.