Miss Wickham's Betrothal

The reader follows Lucy, an orphaned student attending boarding school, as she befriends a young lord during three summer holidays. She is a child at the time and quite enchanted with him. Although fond of her, he disappears from her life one day. She grows up and goes to London for a season, sponsored by a less than friendly woman. While there and in distress a young man, almost the exact image of the young lord from her childhood, comforts her. He courts her and the two become betrothed. He takes her home to meet his family, which consists of two younger sisters, the dowager Countess of Harrow, and his Uncle, the Earl of Harrow. When she arrives Lucy realizes that her betrothed takes after the Earl in looks and the Earl is, in actual fact, the young lord she remembers, although he has since been wounded in war. Poor Lucy has no idea what to do when torn by her affection for the Earl and her betrothal to his nephew. Nor is she certain that the Earl remembers her. Add to this a secret the nephew's been keeping from her, issues of national security and spies, and the possibility that Lucy just migh find out who her parents were.It's an engaging book. Lucy is sympathetic and the Earl is a likable person. You come away from the book with the sense that everyone has gotten what they deserved.

this book is wonderful! the characters are likable and the story grabs your attention from page one. Ms. Richards-Akers is a winner.