Okay. I’ll admit it. When I read the back cover blurb on my ARC and discovered that I had to read a book about some nobleman forced to take his dead great-uncle’s bastard children and launch them into society, I thought I was going to be in for something trite and downright painful. Thank goodness Leslie LaFoy is a much better writer than the cover blurb would lead one to believe. Instead of trite and painful, this novel features a mature, intelligent love story that made me sorry to reach the end.

The story begins with London seamstress Caroline Dutton, a woman of very modest means who has managed to open her own shop in a less-than-fashionable part of town. Like any seamstress, she deals with the rigors of hard work and demanding customers, but she has her independence and she does value that. It seems that this will always be her lot in life until Drayton MacKenzie walks through her door and informs her that she will be coming with him to his country estate.

Drayton has recently inherited his late great-uncle’s title, however, he cannot touch the family fortune until he accomplishes the task of taking in all three of his great-uncle’s illegitimate daughters – one of whom is Caroline – educating them, and seeing them well married. Only by doing this and by marrying well himself can he have any hope of financial stability. Drayton does not relish this assignment, but he is determined to do his duty.

Far from feeling like Cinderella being whisked away from her life of toil by Prince Charming, Caroline is horrified when Drayton tells her why he has come. Caroline does not care about Drayton, his title or his duty, and she does not want some imperious aristocrat coming into her shop and ordering her to leave it. In the end, Caroline finds herself going along somewhat with Drayton’s plan, and leaving home to meet her sisters and travel to the estate.

While the initial set-up of the book might make one believe that this will be another “I hate you no I love you” romance, LaFoy quickly raises things to a higher level. There is an attraction between Caroline and Drayton as well as an ongoing battle of wills. However, these characters are more intelligent and reasonable than most. By this I mean that they actually respect one another and they speak to each other rather than having giant misunderstandings and arguments over petty insignificant things. LaFoy also does a good job of using the conflict between the characters to add heat to the romance rather than merely using conflict as filler.

The maturity of the characters in this book and the honesty of their interaction will likely appeal to readers who enjoy a more mature romance. While there are some very heartwarming moments in this book, there is not a lot of silliness. Even though children in a romance can be hard to write, LaFoy also does a good job of working child characters into the story. There are a few points at which one of the child characters seems a little unbelievable and thus rather grating, but the characters work well most of the time. My only other small quibble with the book lies with Caroline’s attitiudes toward sex and relationships. For a Victorian heroine, her ideas seem very modern indeed.

Still, in the end, these are only minor quibbles for me because the ultimate story is just too good to let these get in the way. Seeing Drayton learn how to get along with his wards and watching the romance between Drayton and Caroline blossom was a true delight. If you are looking for a sexy read and a lovely romance, don’t miss this book.