Morland Dynasty 8: The Maiden

Jemmy Morland is master of Morland Place and is forced to marry Lady Mary, sister to one of the leading lights of the Hanoverian Court, to keep control of the Morland fortune. Mary is an icy, unforgiving woman, jealous of Jemmy's family and friends and though doting on the two sons she gave Jemmy, despises their daughter, Jemima. Jemima grew up knowing that her own mother hated her and so turned to her father and relatives for love. She learned all the ways of the family business in cloth manufacturing so that she was a very capable heir when both sons died of small pox. She married a cousin, so as to keep the family name and became Countess of Chelmsford, only to find that she had married a penniless and debauched man who wanted her only for her money, which he soon squandered. In that era, every single thing that a woman owned became her husband's property upon marriage, leaving her totally dependent upon him..thank the Lord that things changed!!