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England and Virginia Colony 1643
Lady
Constance Morrow just wanted to say goodbye to her uncle.
He was aboard a ship bound to the colonies to
receive punishment for a crime he was accused of. The
captain of the ship is a greedy man. Even
though Constance
is titled, he knows she will bring a higher price than most women who
are being
shipped to the colonies to the tobacco farmers, for she is not charged
with any
crime. When she is bought by Drew
O’Connor,
she is outraged, furious. Now the town
council
demands he marry her or another woman.
To make matters worse, no one believes her when she
tells them that she
is from a wealthy, titled family.
Drew O’Connor
does not need nor want a bride. What he
needs is a maid. His grandmother needs
someone to help her with the household duties, which include looking
after his
three year-old sister, Sally. But he
finds himself saddled with not just one woman, but two.
Because the town council has informed Drew if
he does not marry one of them, his land, stock, and fields of tobacco
can be
taken from him. The only option he has
is to marry one of the women, whiles his brother travels to England to check out Constance’s
story.
As Drew and
Constance both await the return of his brother, they have a marriage of
convenience only. Drew has promised Constance he will not try to consummate the
marriage. But as times goes by and they
spend time together getting to know each other, they are both starting
to have
tender feelings for each other. Will Constance change her mind and allow the marriage
to be
real? Or will she find herself back home in England
among her family? Will Drew be glad when
this charade is
over? Or will he wish his brother never
finds out the truth about Constance?
This was a
wonderful book, by a very talented author.
I enjoyed this book right up to the last page. Constance
was a fighter. She did not let Drew push her around and stood her
ground. Drew tried to keep his distance,
she confused
him, but at the same time, he was very attracted to her.
He wants to believe her story about being a
lady, but he knows she is most definitely not a common born woman.
If you enjoy reading
books set in the colonial era, A
BRIDE MOST BEGRUDGING is the book to read.
Reviewed by Patsy Glans
for The Road
to Romance
June 7, 2005
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