Three of the six Beverley daughters have tried to marry strategically to regain the family estate—but married for love, not money. Rachel, the fourth daughter, sets her sights on the estate’s current resident, Charles Blackwood. A widower with two young children, Charles soon begins to draw Rachel into his life—but does she want him or the mansion?
Lovely Rachel Beverley, 19, having narrowly avoided an entanglement with a cad more interested in her former family home, Mannerling, than in her lissome person, is surprisingly still in that house's spell. The new owner, widower Charles Blackwood, is thought at "nearly forty" to be too old for marriage prospects by the remaining Misses Beverley, including Rachel. But a chance meeting with him, during which Rachel castigates the man for his inattention to his two children, shows her what a handsome and impressive "old" man he is. Shades of the Von Trapps, with fewer kids and no singing nuns. Two potential rivals are introduced to quell this budding attraction, as are hauntings, intrigues and a near-murder. And then there is the Beverleys' scheming reputation: for although Mannerling seems to be loosening its hold on Rachel, does she really want the man or the manor? Chesney's sketchy plotting and facile resolution of the lovers' situation will not disturb her many fans.
M. C. Beaton
M. C. Beaton is the pen name of bestselling novelist Marion Chesney. She was a prolific writer of historical romances and small village mysteries. Born in Scotland, the author began her writing career as a fiction buyer for a Glasgow bookstore and worked as a theater critic, newspaper reporter, and editor. The author wrote under various names, most notably as M. C. Beaton for her Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series. She also wrote under the names Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Marion Gibbons, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward. M.C. BEATON® is a registered trademark of M.C. Beaton Limited
