Series: True Gentlemen (Book 1)
He's had everything he could ever want...until now
Wealthy wool magnate Tremaine St. Michael is half French, half Scottish, and all business. He prowls the world in search of more profits, rarely settling in one place for long. When he meets practical, reserved Lady Nita Haddonfield, he sees an opportunity to mix business with pleasure by making the lady his own.
Nita Haddonfield has a meaningful life tending to others, though nobody is dedicated to caring for Nita. She insists the limitations of marriage aren't for her, then Tremaine St. Michael arrives-protective, passionate, and very, very determined to win Nita's heart.
Good story about two people who aren't looking for love but find it anyway. Tremaine is a wealthy businessman who has arrived at the Earl of Bellefonte's estate to negotiate for the purchase of the earl's flock of Merino sheep. Upon arrival, he discovers that he's not the only one interested and that the earl contemplates using the sheep as hooks to find husbands for his sisters. Tremaine has had no thoughts of marriage in the near future but finds himself intrigued by Lady Nita, the oldest of the sisters. Nita considers herself firmly on the shelf. After the death of her mother, she devoted herself to running the house and taking care of her siblings, as well as serving as a healer for the district. With her brother's marriage, she has lost the need to run the house and has thrown herself into caring for the villagers and tenants.
I liked both Tremaine and Nita. He is the son of a French Comte and a Scottish woman who lost their lives during the Terror. He is somewhat bitter about the way that his mother abandoned him with his Scottish grandfather and returned to France with her husband. His childhood with his grandfather wasn't very pleasant and has caused him to keep his distance from what little family he has left. He prefers increasing his fortune using his wits rather than depending on his aristocratic background. As plain Mr. St. Michael he doesn't flaunt his wealth. Though a bit standoffish at the beginning, as he spends more time with the family his kindness and thoughtfulness become more apparent. Nita is independent, forthright, and more than a little stubborn. After a brief brush with romance when she was younger, she avoids any plans for marriage. Her dedication to caring for the sick has put her at odds with her family, especially her oldest brother, the local doctor, and the vicar. She won't turn away anyone who comes to her for help, including the local fallen woman. She doesn't judge; she simply renders whatever aid she can.
The relationship between Tremaine and Nita developed slowly. Tremaine was drawn to and intrigued by Nita and the way that she cared for everyone else. They began with quiet conversations as they would encounter each other at various times of day. I loved the scenes where Tremaine accompanied Nita to Addy's house. His compassion and kindness were evident, as was the difficulty of the memories that were resurrected. His actions endeared him to Nita, who had expected him to stay distant while she did what she had to do. I also liked her calming effect on him when he had a problem with his sheep. The more time they spent with each other, the more a feeling of attraction grew between them. As Tremaine spent more time thinking about Nita, he began to contemplate the idea of marriage. His thought processes were interesting, as was his broaching of the subject with Nita. She had a rather pragmatic reaction, with an unexpected prerequisite to accepting. One thing they didn't do was talk about their expectations, and this would come back to cause problems. As much as Tremaine admired Nita's dedication to her healing, he didn't seem to understand that it was more than what she does, it was a bone-deep part of who she is. On her side, Nita didn't understand how deep Tremaine's need to protect her was. When those two things came up against each other, and neither was willing to bend, things did not look good for their future. Their eyes were opened by an unexpected crisis, and I liked how both of them took a hard look at their beliefs. I loved their well thought out solutions and compromises.
There was a secondary story going on involving Nita's sister Susannah and her determination to marry their neighbor, Edward Nash. It turns out that there is much more going on with him than most of her family knows. Nita has her suspicions, but because she learned it in confidence, she is hesitant to say anything. Personally, I think she was wrong in that instance. I understood Susannah's desire to marry since it was what was expected, but I thought she was settling for too little. I didn't like Edward's attitude and treatment of Elsie and Digby, which gave a good indication of his character. I thought he got off a bit easily at the end.
I enjoyed the other secondary characters in the story. Nicholas, of course, who is blissfully happy with his bride, though he also frustrated me at times. If he had simply explained his objections about Nita's healing trips to her, there might not have been so many confrontations. Nita's other two sisters, Della and Kirsten, had their unique personalities and storylines. As the youngest, Della is the one who is most aware of what is going on with everyone else. Kirsten sometimes appears selfish, but she does have a kind heart and ends up being very helpful to Nita. She is also adept at defusing some confrontations. My favorite was George. His differences are handled sympathetically and without judgment. I enjoyed his introspective moments and what they revealed about him. I also liked that Tremaine realized that George was much smarter than many gave him credit for. George also has a very protective side that is revealed in an unexpected way. I hope to see more of him in later books.
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