The characters in this
story were extraordinarily well crafted and real. The heroine was both sweet
and funny, her devotion to the man she loved incredibly endearing, while the
hero invited endless amounts of sympathy throughout, due to his tragic past.
When Caroline Arabella Starling meets her brother's best
friend, Ronan Henry Dearborn, the fourth Marquess of Caldwell, for the
first time at the age of thirteen, she takes an instant liking to him. In spite
of the twelve year difference between the two, they become close friends,
meeting once a week - every Thursday - for a game of piquet. And as the
years go by, Caroline falls hopelessly and madly in love with him, still
holding out hope when he insists she's too young for him.
But it
isn't just the age difference that prompts Caldwell to keep Caroline at arm's
length. After losing his investment to a fire, he's penniless and desperate,
completely unworthy of any lady's affection. Humiliated by the choices he's
forced to make in order to get by, he puts distance between himself and the
girl who has always idolized him.
Three
years go by until they meet again, and Caldwell finds that Caroline has
transformed into a stunning beauty. Her feelings for him are unchanged, and so
she sets about trying to win him again, with greater success than before. But
secrets from his past are destined to get these two tangled up in a series of
terrible misunderstandings that only an open heart and absolute honesty can
hope to undo.
I
found Caldwell's story to be absolutely heart-wrenching! It is filled with so
much angst, and just when you think it can't get any worse, something else is
revealed. But the interaction between him and Caroline is wonderful, their
conversation wrought with humor as their relationship gradually progresses from
simple friendship to so much more.
Delilah
Marvelle is a fantastic storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, and was
very relieved when Caroline and Caldwell finally got the happy ending they both
so thoroughly deserved.
