The Mysterious Heir

Rating:
Summary: Poignant and heartwarming tale of a Cinderella and her Earl
Review: I came late to Edith Layton, and am now managing to read some of her early Signet romances thanks to Amazon.com auctions. This book is one of my favourites so far.

Morgan Courtney, Earl of Arden, is in his thirties, walks with a limp thanks to a war wound, and is a widower with no desire to marry again. His first wife was a sex addict, and she was routinely unfaithful to the point that he eventually sent her back to her father and went off to war to get away from her; she later died giving birth to a baby which wasn't his.

However, he needs to name an heir because someone he doesn't even know is apparently claiming to be his heir and is running up bills which are being sent to Morgan's man of business to settle. Since he has three male distant cousins, all of whom are equally entitled to the position of heir, he sends for them all in order to nominate one. Therefore, three Courtneys descend on his country estate: Richard, a dour, quiet man with little interest in the position; Owen, an overweight child whose mother is extremely ambitious and would like any deal to include her as well as her son; and Anthony, a seventeen-year-old radical who comes accompanied by his cousin, Elizabeth De Lisle.

For Elizabeth, the stay at the Earl's property is close to the fulfilment of a Cinderella fantasy. She is twenty-three, and has lived for most of her life in poverty, although she's of good family. She works as a milliner, in a shop, in order to keep food on the table. But since, if Anthony was lucky enough to become the Earl's heir, it would result in a change of the family's fortunes, she is persuaded to accompany Anthony in an effort to keep the boy in line.

She and Morgan are attracted to each other from the first, but Elizabeth is tongue-tied by a combination of attraction and intimidation. Later, when she finally begins to feel comfortable with Morgan, he suspects her motives; just about every woman he has ever known has wanted his money and has concealed the truth about herself from him. And it's obvious that Elizabeth is hiding something, but he thinks that it's far worse than it is.

However, alone on the edge of his property on a beautiful day, he kissed her, and suddenly secrets are shared and it seems to be the beginning of a wonderful relationship - but what kind of relationship can he offer her?

This is a lovely, heart-warming book which I'd recommend to anyone.