
Arthur, the new earl, took advantage of Marianne's situation and left her no choice but to take on the responsibilities of a governess for his daughters (without pay). The new earl was the nephew of her late husband yet she was still younger than he. When the earl died, she was left without a penny to her name and had nowhere to go. She suffered eight years of emotional and physical abuse.

The sins of her father came to rest on her shoulders when she was sold to an elderly earl to pay for her father's debts. She is a most agreeable young lady, witty, intelligent and an excellent conversationalist. Marianne, at eighteen ruled the ton by storm. This is an emotionally moving story of a young beautiful, diamond of the first water’s unfortunate life.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I cannot wait to read more and I highly recommend you read this one too! This is a story of survival, true love and friendships that survive time!! Catherine Bilson has written a wonderful story with heart and strong emotions that drew me in from the first page. Whe she sees Alexander again, she knows he is angry, but he did not understand all that she went through. But she was able to go to her friend Ellen and finally tells her all that she has been through. Now, eight years later, she is a widow and nowhere to go, although the new Earl, Arthur tries to keep her under his thumb just as her husband had. She was terribly abused and beaten and had a horrible life. She was forced to marry a man three times her age who held her under his cruel control due to he father's gambling debt. This book started off so sweet but there was evil lurking on the outskirts determined to have Marianne for himself. She vowed she would wait for him as he went off to war. There is no force on earth which will stop me coming to you, if you will but wait for me." Alexander's promise to her was a pledge and as she was his friend since childood he had always loved her.

March 1810 "If God grants that I survive, I will come back to you, Marianne.
