“Mary Balogh wrote a great story here - of a family, three sisters and a brother, who lived in a small cottage in Throckbridge, Shropshire, England. Margaret, the eldest of the sisters, had promised their father she'd remain and raise the two youngest children, Kate and Stephen. Vanessa had married but was now widowed. Now, a handsome viscount comes into their small town on the night of the Valentine's festivities, attends their dance, dances only with Vanessa then spends the remainder of the evening playing cards! Next day, he comes to their cottage with the news that Stephen was heir to an earldom; he is now the Earl of Merton - rich, landed, and must move to his new home, Warren Hall, to learn how to manage those lands. Of course, his sisters - even Vanessa, who eventually said goodbye to her in-laws - insisted that they must go along - to the intense aggravation of the viscount, Elliott Lyngate. The move brought many new adventures into their lives, and the introduction to a cousin they didn't know about, Constantine Huxtable. Even though Constantine and Elliott had been very close as young people, there was now a marked animosity between them, but Con charmed them as he usually did everyone. Vanessa, who was used to being called "the plain sister", found the viscount very cold, unable to find any joy in things, and made no bones about telling him so.
Elliott's mother had told him it was time he found a bride - he was 30, after all - and seriously set about having an heir. He decided that Margaret, the oldest sister, would suit ideally for many reasons - mainly that he needed someone to sponsor these "country bumpkins" in London and a wife would be perfect for that. But Vanessa beat him to it, asking him to marry HER instead, with really good reasoning. The marriage taught both parties many things, and made the book a really great one to read. I loved it and can't wait to find the next two of that trilogy.”
