In Regency England, the same time period as Bridgerton and Poldark, Patience Creighton has devoted her life to running her father’s boarding school. But when the enigmatic master of the estate appears at her door, battered and unconscious, the young headmistress suddenly finds her livelihood—and her heart—in the hands of one dangerously handsome gentleman.
At twenty-five, Patience Creighton is already a spinster. The busy headmistress of Rosemere always expected a dashing man to sweep her off her feet and take her away . . . but that man never came. And since her father’s death, keeping the school running and her mother happy has been plenty to keep her occupied.
William Sterling dallied his way into financial trouble and mortal danger. When he is assaulted by his creditors’ henchmen on the road home from a tavern, he guides his horse to the doorstep of his tenant, the Rosemere School for Young Ladies. After being tended to by Patience, the wounded William rides off into the dawn—but makes a point to learn more about the lovely headmistress.
As he spends more time at Rosemere, something delicate begins to develop between William and Patience. But that will not deter William’s creditors. With little money to repay his debts, and less for the upkeep of his estate, it becomes clear that sacrificing Rosemere may be the only way to preserve his legacy. But it may also cost him his happiness.
- Book Two of the Whispers on the Moor series. Books do not need to be read in order.
- Book One: The Heiress of Winterwood
- Book Two: The Headmistress of Rosemere
- Book Three: A Lady at Willowgrove Hall
- Book length: approximately 85,000 words
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
- Chaste, kissing-only Regency romance
In Regency England, the same time period as Bridgerton and Poldark, Patience Creighton has devoted her life to running her father's boarding school. But when the master of the estate appears at her door, battered and unconscious, the young headmistress suddenly finds her livelihood---and her heart---in the hands of one dangerously handsome gentleman.
"A cad who longs to change his ways... a spinster yearning for love... a wild racehorse, a suspicious fire, an orphan of uncertain origin, a family torn by duty and debt---they're all here in Ladd's sophomore novel (after the Genesis Award-winning The Heiress of Winterwood). In 1816 on the moors of Darbury, England, Patience Creighton has been holding matters together at the Rosemere School for Young Ladies after the death of her forward-thinking father, who founded the school on land owned by the Sterling family. Patience's brother has disappeared and her grieving mother has retired to her room, so Patience must care for her young students and small devoted staff. That is, until her hitherto absent landlord, William Sterling, whose nasty reputation precedes him, stumbles onto the scene, pursued by creditors and his own developing conscience. Mutual attraction ensues. Charming if formulaic characters and engaging scenes of the times keep the pages turning as this historical romance, with its faint sprinkling of religion, swirls energetically through angst and disclosure to a predictable conclusion."
"[E]ngaging scenes of the times keep the pages turning as this historical romance . . . swirls energetically through angst and disclosure."
