A Convenient Gentleman [Large Print]

Caroline Morgan was a spoiled, bull-headed, opinionated scrappy miss who wanted to help her father run the farm. She just didn't realize that she lacked experience. So she took her horse to sell for money to take her to New Zealand where her Aunt Charlotte lived. Aunt Charlotte Wilks who wrote occasionally to her sister, Caro's mother and who no one had a good word to say about. Not since Charlotte married Ben Morgan's father. Well Caro tracked down her aunt at Castledene in Dunedin who was still beautiful in a faded way. Then Mr. Thwaites shows up, who is apparently Aunt Charlotte's lover, and he is running the Castledene bar [or saloon] and is not paying any rent to her. Caro boldly marched into the bar and was rescued by a Mr. Gray who was very drunk. He agrees to a paper marriage or marriage of convenience in order to help Caro get a loan to reopen Castledene Hotel for her aunt. The plot keeps getting a shade better as we watch the spoiled Caroline slowly grow up and make an emotional [and hormonal] connection with Mr. Gray who turns out to be an exceptional artist and poker player. And according to Caroline a bit of a hunk. That is when he doesn't drink. She is another one of those misses that seems to think they know how to live life. It turns out to be a delightful read - an excellent description of the gold-rush heyday - and of the New Zealand hinterland. DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED ------- thoroughly enjoyable.

Description from the book back cover: She needed to marry ... Caroline Morgan is determined to make a success out of her aunt's New Zealand business. But the bank won't lend the money Caro so desperately needs until she has a husband. Caro discovers Leander Gray, the younger son of an aristocrat and the only eligible man in town, collapsed in a local bar. He grudgingly agrees to a paper marriage - if he's paid a hefty fee. They marry, and Caro is left wondering what she's got herself into. But when the gambler turns gentleman her feelings begin to change ... New Zealand: Love Rush - Gold Rush