A sweet and undemanding tale with no real villain, no great misunderstandings and no improbable plot developments (elopements, kidnappings, highwaymen and the like). Sensible, mature protagonists and a low key but slowly growing romance. It sounds as if nothing happens, and perhaps that’s true, but I found it a delightful read all the same.
Here’s the premise: Clarissa Driscoll used to be the daughter of Pennhurst, the local manor house. Unfortunately, her father gambled away the family fortune, leaving her almost destitute. Now, as a spinster of twenty-seven, she lives in a tiny cottage in the nearest village with a maid of all work, scraping a living by teaching the sons and daughters of the local gentry, in particular Aria, the fifteen-year-old sister of the Earl of Kinsford, and her seventeen-year-old brother, William (when he isn’t at school). The earl is a distant guardian, spending most of his time in London, and the children’s mother is even more hands-off, even though she lives in the same house. So Clarissa is almost the children’s only respectable friend.
The interesting point is that Clarissa and Alexander (the earl) have some history, having shared a passionate kiss some years ago. Then life intervened, he spent some years in the army, she was reduced in status and now they’re merely distantly polite neighbours. When he comes home to find out why William has been rusticated from school and discovers that Clarissa has already dealt with the situation in her own forthright way, he is understandably aggrieved. But when Aria has a fall from her horse, and ends up recovering at Clarissa’s cottage, the two are thrown together far more than before and things come very much to the boil, aided by Aria, who decides to play matchmaker by prolonging her illness to keep throwing Alexander and Clarissa together.
A number of reviews complain that there’s no sign of the romance until the very end of the book. I disagree. It’s obvious to me that even though they argue constantly early on (or rather, Alexander gets very cross and Clarissa speaks her mind forthrightly) there’s still a very strong attraction between them. In particular, Alexander’s concerns about the amount of time Clarissa spends with her (male) cousin (long walks in the countryside! Sitting together indoors unchaperoned!! Waltzing!!!) are driven by jealousy. The development of the romance is certainly subtle, but I thought it was very clear. There’s one conversation in particular, where he first calls her by her Christian name, that positively crackles with unexpressed romantic tension (a beautifully written scene).
The final chapters break out almost into farce, with the arrival of the cousin’s previously unseen wife, and the children’s mother, as well as the rest of the regular cast, all crammed into Clarissa’s little cottage. It was hysterically funny without ever going over the top, and finished up with a fine romantic denouement. Lovely stuff, and apart from a smattering of Americanisms, perfectly written. Five stars.
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