Series:
Season of Celebration (Book 3)
One impulsive kiss…
His countess for life!
Desperate to step into Society just once before she's
forced into an unhappy marriage, Alice sneaks into a masquerade ball…only to
catch a dashing stranger's eye! He's also determined to be distracted from his
troubles, and Alice can't resist ending their enchanting evening with a kiss.
But the next day, when he comes to warn her that their encounter was observed,
she learns he's the Earl of Northumberland…and the only way to save her
reputation is to become his convenient countess!
When faced with the prospect of marrying her vile cousin
Cecil, the ordinarily cautious Alice joins her friend Lydia in sneaking into a
neighbor's masquerade ball. She encounters Simon, Earl of Northumberland, who
saves her from an embarrassing mishap. They dance, they talk, and, during a
stroll in the garden, engage in an ill-advised kiss before Alice runs off.
Unfortunately, they were seen, and rumors began to circulate. Simon does the
honorable thing and proposes.
Simon never intended to marry. He inherited the title
after his older brother's sudden death, a death very much like their father's. He
suffers from the same kind of headaches they did and is convinced that he will
also die young. Rather than put his family through seeing that happen, Simon
plans to leave the country and go off to die alone. But he won't leave Alice to
suffer the consequences of their actions, so he marries her first. It will be a
marriage in name only, and when he is dead, she will be free to pursue the love
she craves.
They marry, and Simon leaves within days. Alice is left
to build her own life, which she does. Meanwhile, Simon has been off in Italy,
waiting to die, only to find that the headaches have stopped. When a doctor
tells him there's no reason to believe he will die soon, Simon goes home to
England and the wife he has ignored for almost a year. Alice is stunned by his
arrival but hopeful that her marriage will become real.
I liked Alice. She is kind, compassionate, and
determined. I loved how she moved to London and made a life for herself, making
friends and finding a purpose that satisfied her. The scenes of her working
with her charity were terrific.
I had a harder time liking Simon. His grief over his
father's and brother's deaths was understandable, and I ached for him because
of the guilt he felt for being alive. But after a while, I felt he was using it
as an excuse to avoid getting close to Alice.
The development of Simon and Alice's relationship was
frustrating at times. Alice is wary of letting herself grow close to Simon
because she isn't sure he won't run again. But the more time they spend
together, the more she sees the man he could be. Simon is attracted to Alice
but tries to resist. He is also fascinated by her. But his survivor's guilt is
so intense that every time he starts to feel that he could be happy, he pulls
away, hurting Alice in the process. I loved seeing Alice finally call Simon out
on it and its effect on him. The ending was emotional, and the epilogue was a
nice wrap-up to their story.
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