This Land This Love

At the turn of the century, young, beautiful Rebecca Cottrel, a publican's daughter, is trying to make peace with her British home village after having lived a higher life abroad in boarding school. All too soon, however, she has a much greater adjustment to make, when her father is brutally murdered. Enter local farmer Aden Sawle, who has long loved Rebecca. Though she dreams of marrying high, Rebecca feels indebted to Aden and weds him. Her fantasy turns out not to have been unfounded, however, as Victor Roth, the aristocratic fiance of Rebecca's best friend, intimates that he'd have preferred to marry Rebecca. So, even though Victor goes ahead with his wedding, thoughts of him linger with Rebecca through the years--and fuel Aden's jealousy. Rebecca is a mite jealous, too, harboring a suspicion that Aden fathered the child of one of her father's former barmaids. Over time, Aden acquires all the wealth and success he promised Rebecca, but their failure to trust each other completely slowly robs them of their happiness and makes each successive problem worse until there is a break. After all the hard things two married people can do to each other, can there be a reconciliation? Or will they be cursed by their history of cross-purposes and misunderstandings? No one will be surprised by the answers as Sole (Shadow Players) follows her romantic recipe to a tee, including a pinch of salt in a subplot about Aden's illegitimate son among the Gypsies. (Apr.)