"A very sexy must-read."

Emma Fitzgerald, eldest daughter of the recently deceased and longtime vicar of Wakefield, is dutiful to her community, doing for others and never asking anything in return. John Clayton, Viscount Wakefield, notorious for cursing, drinking and carousing, arrives with his entourage. Within a week, he dispatches eviction notices to several of his tenants. With petition in hand, Emma marches up to the big house to confront the great lord, resulting in both parties signing a contract stating the evictions will be canceled for sexual favors.

After sending his companions and mistress back to London, John and Emma agree to meet each day at 1 p.m. John is eager to know Emma sexually. However, she plans to put him off by having him meet and know each of the tenants he tried to evict, making him face reality with compassion and become a good lord. John and Emma both know their relationship is more than sexual attraction. But John has no real understanding of her plight, until he learns that she's one of the people on the eviction list. He knows Emma won't accept help in any way, unwilling to risk scandal or her pride for assistance.

On the eve of John's departure to London, the possibility of Emma being with child becomes a question. Promising to notify him by letter if she's pregnant, Emma leaves, planning never to see him again. But after sending John the letter and getting no reply, Emma turns to the current vicar, requesting he marry her for the sake of her reputation. When John learns of the situation, he races back to Wakefield to claim Emma and their child, hoping he's not too late and that Emma will have him.

This story will be put on my must-read-again list. It's very sexual in content, and the characters seem to come alive.

Reviewed by Tammie Ard
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted August 19, 2003