Someone to Care

Draws in deep breath ... Viola was married to the Earl of Riverdale for over twenty years and bore him three children. But after his death she discovered theirs was a bigamous marriage, her son has been disinherited and the entire family has been disgraced. 42 years old and with her identity for the past two decades stripped away from her Viola has abruptly abandoned her family in Bath desperate to be alone. When her hired carriage breaks down she finds herself forced to stay the night at an unprepossessing inn. Fourteen years ago Marcel Lamarr, now the Marquess of Dorchester, flirted with Viola and, despite her personal feelings, she told him to leave her alone. Now, he and his brother are en-route to his country estate when their carriage also suffers a malfunction requiring them to spend an hour or two at the same inn. Marcel immediately recognises Viola and perhaps piqued by her previous dismissal determines to dally with her and perhaps entice her into bed. The two of them are running away from their lives and responsibilities and the disappointments of the past - together they decide to spend a week or two together, a brief affair away from the prying eyes of family and friends. I am a sucker for a second-chance romance and I have to admit that I read some of this with tears rolling down my face. Both Viola and Marcel come to realise that they were in love fourteen years ago and both soon realise that they are in love now, but they are both too proud to admit that their dalliance has become much more. Loved it.