PLEASE NOTE: This book may have an alternate cover. The following description is provided as a guide only and may contain text that doesn't specifically relate to this item. Amazon.com . . Samantha James always manages to tug at the reader's heartstrings and this book is no exception. Have a hanky or two handy as you read this emotionally charged story. Heather Duval became the ward of the Earl of Stonehurst at age 4 after her parents were killed in a carriage accident. Now a grown woman of 21, Heather is the proud owner of Lockhaven Park. Heather pours all her energy into making certain that the manor flourishes. She believes that her advanced age and maimed leg destine her for spinsterhood. Then Damien Tremayne enters her life and turns her peaceful world upside down. But Damien's identity is deceptive. He is out to discover old secrets and solve a murder; in so doing he uncovers a past Heather only thought of as a bad dream. . . . . From Publishers Weekly . . A heroine with eyes the color of wet violets and a dark, brooding hero can't quite rescue James's latest historical (after My Lord Conqueror). Damien Tremayne, Earl of Deverell, is searching for answers concerning the deaths of his brother and father. The trail leads to Heather Duval, whose natural father may have murdered both Tremaynes. Heather, who is lame, is mistress of Lockhaven, an estate deeded by her guardian, where Damien arrives conveniently to fill the position of manager. True to formulaic romance, the lovers' relationship is strongly written, but the plot has holes and secondary characters are sketchily drawn. There's some playing around with the modern concept of repressed memory-Damien wonders about Heather's ‘subconscious’-a jarringly anachronistic intrusion into a story set in 1835. . . Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.Samantha James
