Narrated by Roger Hampton

This audio novella is quite short, coming in at around the two-and-a-half hour mark, but even so, the story is replete with the emotional punch I’ve come to expect from author Grace Burrowes.

The events of Mary Fran and Matthew run concurrently with those in The Bridegroom Wore Plaid, the first of Ms. Burrowes’ novels set in Victorian Scotland which features the MacGregors of Balfour. Lady Mary Frances MacGregor is a widow and the younger sister of four handsome, strapping Scotsmen, the eldest of whom, Asher, is missing, presumed dead, leaving the next brother, Ian, to take over the reins of the impoverished Earldom of Balfour.

In Bridegroom, Ian is seeking a wife rich enough to enable him to restore and adequately support his family, dependents, and estate, and it seems as though he has found her in the person of Eugenia Daniels, the eldest daughter of the English Baron Altsax. Altsax brings his two daughters and his son, Matthew, a former army officer, to Balfour for the summer, in order to finalise the details of Genie’s betrothal to Ian.

Mary Fran is a secondary character in that novel; she is both housekeeper and hostess, and spends a lot of her time rushing from place to place and being generally frazzled trying to keep everything running smoothly, as well as being a mother to her precocious seven-year-old daughter, Fiona. It’s quite obvious from the title of the novella as to the direction the story will take (and anyone who has read or listened to Bridegroom will know how things work out), so it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that the novella charts the development of Mary Fran’s relationship with Matthew Daniels.

Because of the way this novella relates so strongly to the events of the previous book, I’d say it’s probably best to have read or listened to Bridegroom first, as several of the characters who feature in it, pop up in the novella, most notably Ian MacGregor and Baron Altsax, Matthew’s slime-ball of a father.

Mary Fran and Matthew is short, but very sweet. Although I admit that the shorter format did mean that the romance had to progress quite quickly, Ms. Burrowes has nonetheless shaped a deeply-felt relationship between her central couple. Surrounded by people who love her, Mary Fran is lonely and starved for true companionship, and it’s truly sad that it takes a stranger to see it. But that person is no stranger to loneliness himself and recognises a kindred spirit when he sees one. Matthew is kind and considerate, recognising that Mary Fran needs both a sympathetic ear, and someone who will treat her as a woman rather than as a mother, sister, and household factotum. The pair are instantly and deeply attracted to each other, but there is something murky in Matthew’s past that is holding him back, something which makes it difficult for him to pursue the sort of honest relationship he wants and that Mary Fran deserves.

I enjoyed the story which skilfully depicted the heroine’s frustrations and longings. Matthew was a lovely beta-hero whose intuitiveness and consideration towards her were realised beautifully.

Roger Hampton’s performance was, once again, very good indeed, and apart from one very small exception, his interpretation of each character was consistent with the accents and tones he had employed in the two previous books in the series. I particularly enjoyed his portrayal of Matthew, to whose softly spoken intonations he gave an underlying note of authority which made him sound very proper and very sexy at the same time. There were one or two occasions when I felt his interpretation of Mary Fran tended towards being a little shrill, but I didn’t find it detracted from my overall enjoyment.

If you’ve listened to the other audiobooks in this terrific series as I have (my reviews of The MacGregor’s Lady this Spring.

Caz