Ilze

The story of Asher MacGregor, the "lost lord" of the MacGregor family. I was expecting the story to be about Asher's return to the family, but it is not - his return is already a fait accompli when this story starts out and not much is said about it at all in this book. This book starts out when Hannah, the heroine, debarks in Edinburgh from a ship that belongs to Asher. Asher has been coerced into escorting Hannah, a rich heiress from the States, down to London so she can find a titled English husband, although how Asher could be coerced into doing this by a distant family member, who doesn't appear to have any favours to call in from Asher and is considerably lower in rank, is never really adequately explained.  

Both Hannah and Asher are lonely and psychologically wounded people (a Grace Burrowes specialty) and both have decided they will never, ever, ever marry. Asher has already been married once and tragically lost his family to disease, while Hannah feels she cannot give up her independence to ANY man, although, as Asher points out, the status of women in the mid 19'th century is so low that even as an independent woman she is in danger from someone determined to bring her under his thumb and control or ruin her, and Hannah has an enemy who is willing to do just that.

Asher and Hannah end up falling in love - a lovely story, as one can expect from Grace Burrowes, but the resolution of their reluctance to be together, and the comeuppance of Hannah's enemy, is fraught and really only happens in a slightly over-the-top scene right at the end of the book. Although the resolution is not really final - I was left with the feeling that the problems with Hannah's enemy still have to be dealt with more thoroughly before Hannah, Asher, and the others who are in the enemy's sights, can feel truly safe from him.  

If you're a fan of Grace Burrowes' Windham series, you'll be happy to know that a whole gang of Windhams make a couple of benevolent appearances in this book, although the Duke of Moreland is now Gayle (the hero of The Heir) and he is getting on in years.