Lucinda Palgrave, the Countess of Denbigh, is
trapped in a horrible marriage to a man who considers her a
fat, clumsy cow. Since she has been unable to provide him
with an heir, she has accepted the fact that Denbigh only
wants her for her money, but his latest request for her
to "entertain" one of his wealthy friends at a country
gathering has pushed her to the breaking point. She makes
her escape before dawn, fleeing London with her meager
personal funds so that she can create a new life where no
one knows her, a goal that is made easier when she becomes
the unexpected guardian of a little orphan girl, providing
her with a disguise as a widow with a child.
Hugo, Captain Lord Wanstead, has just returned to
his family estate after a battle injury left him with a
wounded leg and a need for an extended recovery. Hugo is
nursing emotional wounds as well -- the woman he met and
married while on the continent died in childbirth, cursing
his name, the same fate his mother suffered when his father
decided he needed a "back up" heir in case Hugo was killed
in battle. But upon his return, Hugo discovers that the
family estate is not how he remembered it. His recently
deceased father has left a mountain of debt from his
gambling, and now Hugo must figure out how to clean up the
mess. Worst of all, at a time when he wishes to hide away
from the world and be left alone, Hugo learns that his
steward has rented out the small cottage in the woods of
the estate to a widow and her young daughter, and Hugo
can't afford to turn her out because he needs her rent
money.
Lucinda doesn't know what to make of the taciturn
Lord Wanstead at first, especially because his gruff manner
reminds her of her husband, Denbigh. But when Hugo is
forced as ask for her help in sorting out the household
accounts, a talent Lucinda learned from her father before
her marriage, she soon discovers that Hugo is more like a
wounded bear than a tyrant, a bear who desperately needs
someone to stand up to his bluster and open his heart to
love. But can she allow herself to fall for him, knowing
that even if she manages to elude Denbigh and lead a new
life, she will never be free to create a future with
Hugo?
I thoroughly enjoyed THE LADY FLEES HER LORD. The
dedication alone is worth the price of the book, but the
characters will win your heart as well. Lucinda is
wonderful, an unconventional heroine who has been beaten
down by her monster of a husband, but whose inner strength
helps her to find courage, leading her to new friends who
love her just as she is. Hugo is a wounded hero, at turns
charming and morose, but the pain he has endured is
understandable, and his actions are driven by a concern for
others, especially the curvaceous woman he grows to
love.
The story is filled with vivid descriptions that
draw you in, and the secondary characters are delightful,
adding warmth and heart, and quite a few chuckles. We
should all be so lucky to be surrounded by such loving, non-
judgmental souls. This book is a real treat!
Michele Ann Young's characters grapple with issues that
have plagued men and women for centuries-fashions in
beauty, pressure to conceive a baby, physical and
psychological abuse, alcoholism, and the aftermath of the
trauma of war. The modern reader finds themes she can
relate to and characters for whom she can cheer set in the
gracious era of the Regency.
Running from a husband
who abuses her because she is unfashionably tall and big
and has failed to produce an heir, Lucinda, Lady Denbigh,
rescues a street urchin and poses as a widow with a small
daughter.
Reclusive ex-soldier Lord Hugo Wanstead
is back from the Peninsular Wars with a wound that won't
heal and a seeming inability to stop drinking.
When
he encounters Lucinda, they both feel they've been offered
a second chance, but when her husband discovers where she
is, her life, her love, and her adopted child could all be
destroyed ...
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