Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even though she participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted ... and she has resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man--just to avoid spinsterhood?
Captain Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix's friend, the vivacious flirt Prudence Mercer, when he returns from fighting abroad. But, as he explains in his letters to Pru, life on the battlefield has darkened his soul--and it's becoming clear that Christopher won't come back as the same man. When Beatrix learns of Pru's disappointment, she decides to help by concocting Pru's letters to Christopher for her. Soon the correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher develops into something fulfilling and deep ... and when Christopher comes home, he's determined to claim the woman he loves. What began as Beatrix's innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love--and a passion that can't be denied.
Synopsis
Deception, passion, and love collide in this bewitching novel in New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas' wildly popular Hathaway series
Beatrix Hathaway would much rather spend time with her collection of rescued animals than flirting in a stuffy ballroom. If her unconventional behavior earns the mockery of handsome rakes like Captain Christopher Phelan, so be it. She'd rather stay true to herself, even if it means never finding love.
Christopher's courtship of Beatrix's friend, the vivacious but flighty Prudence Mercer, is interrupted when his regiment is sent to fight in the Crimea. After a particularly devastating battle, he writes a letter to Prudence, unaware that the spoiled beauty has decided she doesn't want to wait for him.
Since Prudence won't reply to the world-weary soldier, Beatrix offers to write a letter for her--and she signs it as Pru. A lively, witty correspondence begins, and gradually turns into something deeper as they share the secrets of their hearts. To Beatrix's despair, she's fallen for a man who thinks she's someone else, and she'll never be able to reveal her deception.
Christopher, now a decorated hero, comes back to claim the woman he loves. Soon, however, he realizes Prudence is very different from her letters . . . and he's bewildered by his inexplicable attraction to the eccentric Beatrix Hathaway . . .