Release Date: May 16, 2017

Annabelle Thorley’s fiance has just called off her engagement.  Scandal around her late father’s financial activity made him bolt, leaving the future of her and her brother in doubt.  London society in the early 1800’s was not very flexible for young women. Her brother quickly arranges a marriage to a wealthy gentleman that she cannot stand to be around. Putting her happiness first, she flees her comfortable upper class life and joins her aunt and uncle in Fellsworth.  

Her uncle oversees a boarding school where Annabelle find employment as a teacher’s assistant. She provides for herself and no longer has staff at her disposal. She assimilates to living with other teachers in shared housing. Her biggest worry is being found by her brother and being forced into an unhappy arranged marriage.

This book is the third in a series, but it is not necessary to read the prior novels. It is a nice mix of historical fiction, romance and mystery. This was the first novel that I read by the author, Sarah E. Ladd.