The Headmistress of Rosemere

A cad who longs to change his ways... a spinster yearning for love... a wild racehorse, a suspicious fire, an orphan of uncertain origin, a family torn by duty and debt—they’re all here in Ladd’s sophomore novel (after the Genesis Award–winning The Heiress of Winterwood). In 1816 on the moors of Darbury, England, Patience Creighton has been holding matters together at the Rosemere School for Young Ladies after the death of her forward-thinking father, who founded the school on land owned by the Sterling family. Patience’s brother has disappeared and her grieving mother has retired to her room, so Patience must care for her young students and small devoted staff. That is, until her hitherto absent landlord, William Sterling, whose nasty reputation precedes him, stumbles onto the scene, pursued by creditors and his own developing conscience. Mutual attraction ensues. Charming if formulaic characters and engaging scenes of the times keep the pages turning as this historical romance, with its faint sprinkling of religion, swirls energetically through angst and disclosure to a predictable conclusion. Agent: Tamela Hancock Murray, Steve Laube Agency. (Dec.)