A penniless Cinderella
And a tempting offer from the colonel…
When a marquess's scheme leads to the debt and demise of
Abigail's father, she wants retribution! Only, her plans at confronting the
scoundrel go awry when his handsome younger brother Colonel Theodore Marshall
offers her a job as his secretary. Theo's deal helps Abigail restore her family
from financial ruin, but working so closely with him isn't as easy as she
expected. Especially when each encounter sparks with tension!
Good book. Abigail has had the worst few weeks of her
life. An only child, when Abigail's father died of a heart attack, she had to
deal with everything by herself. The will reading reveals that he lost all his
money in a bad investment, and the bank is repossessing her home, leaving her
homeless. Then, her fiancé, who promised to stand by her, dumps her after
discovering there is no dowry left. After learning that the financial disaster
was caused by investing in the Marquess of Salway's building venture, the
furious Abigail heads off to confront the Marquess. She feels he owes her at
least a recommendation for a job. Unfortunately, Abigail discovers that she is
yelling at the wrong man. Her target has left the country, and she is facing
his younger brother.
Colonel Lord Theo Marshall sold his commission after the
war and intended to start a new life in America. But first, he stops in London
to check in with his brother and his family. There, he finds that Fitzwilliam
has fled the country. Theo is an honorable man who believes he must clean up
his brother's mess before moving on. He is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the
problems and initially can't see a way to help Abigail. I liked seeing how his
conscience kicked in, and the scene where he finds and hires her was great.
Abigail has her work cut out for her as she serves as
secretary for Theo, companion for Sabrina, his sister-in-law, and governess/chaperone
to his two nieces. Meanwhile, Theo tries to bring order out of chaos so that he
can move on with his life. Neither expected the attraction that flared between
them, especially as both had vowed to remain unmarried. There are some terrific
scenes of Theo when his innate kindness and protectiveness kick in. I liked
seeing the friendship between them and watching as it grew into love. However,
there are obstacles, especially Theo's issues with the estate. An unexpected
discovery and the twist that came with it throws a wrench into their plans. I
liked Theo's "aha" moment and the emotional ending. The epilogue was
a nice wrap-up for the story.
Theo's valet, Kitchen, is my favorite of all the
secondary characters. He was Theo's sergeant-major during the war and now runs
his civilian life. I loved their relationship, which is far more like friends
than employer/employee. Kitchen's interactions with Theo were fun, especially
when he tried to guide Theo along a particular path. He and Theo warmed my
heart with their determination to help his men after they returned from the
war.
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