Lady Cecily's Scheme

Miss Vanessa Lester was much loved by her father and was trained in management of his estate just as a male heir would have been. Vanessa inherits all of Halverton when her father passes away and his will also sets aside a generous settlement for Vanessa's mother, Lady Cecily. The settlement, however, will only come to Lady Cecily once Vanessa is married. Lady Cecily is determined to set up her own household in London and escape the country forever and tries to convince Vanessa to go to London for the season. When Vanessa holds firm in her decision to stay at Halverton until the proper mourning period is over Lady Cecily decides to bring suitors to Vanessa and marry her off as soon as possible. This is an enjoyable book. Vanessa is a sensible, practical girl and has little problem seeing past her mother's scheming. She runs her estate very well, is kind to her servants and tenants and enjoys local society. She is quite feminine, despite her knowledge of estate manners. She is also romantic and has decided that if she "did not discover that one very special gentleman she felt was meant for her" she was prepared to remain unmarried. I enjoyed reading about her suitors and the bit of intrigue involving smuggling and spying was a nice addition to the plot. Occasionally the story was a little slow, but overall it was a good book and I would recommend it to others.