Lord Carew's Bride / Mary Balogh 286 p. 5 gold rings

Almost 6 years have past since Samantha Newman was cruelly used by Lord Lionel Kersey in his feud with the Earl of Thornhill.  Both Samantha and her cousin Jennifer were victims of Kersey.  Samantha has lasting scars, she no longer believes in love; it is just passion. Jennifer's forced marriage with Thornhill  has grown in to a very happy one. Samantha is visiting when she makes a new friend who she believes is a disabled gardener (badly injured in a riding accent caused by Kersey).  She finds his conversations interesting and their silences companionable.  When she returns to London, she catches herself thinking of Hartley Wade and his quiet ways that so suit her; while being pursued by Kersey.  And Kersey is so persuasive that Samantha is fearful of being pulled back into his world.  So when she sees Wade in London she is so delighted.  He is so drawn to her and still has not revealed that he is Lord Carew.  Kersey is still planting seeds to damage Sam and Hartley's relationship.