Alexandra Barrow and Robert Stamford, the two main characters in The Ambitious Baronet made this book a better than average Regency Romance. They were real people with real flaws and although they had enough past baggage to make their present lives difficult, neither of them dwelt on their problems ad nauseum. The plot was not quite as good, since it left some of my questions unanswered and the story ends a bit abruptly. But Alexandra does have two younger sisters, so maybe I’ll get the answers to my questions when their stories come out.

Alexandra Barrow and her sisters are left penniless after their father loses his estate in a card game and then kills himself. None of the sisters are married and Alex especially does not want to be, since she has observed how miserable her mother’s married life was. Alex, with the help of Margaret Winsham, a woman who lives in the woods and has a reputation as a healer, has quietly taken in about a dozen children who were abused by their parents or employeers. Alex has come to love the children and worries what will happen to them since she no longer has the estate.

The man who won the estate is Sir Robert Stamford. In the world of Regency Society, he is neither fish nor fowl and is quite the outsider. Robert was born out of wedlock to an unknown but prominent father, and his equally unknown mother placed him in an orphanage at birth. When Robert was a young boy, he was taken from the orphanage and sent to school at Harrow by a sponsor who was an aquaintance of his father. At school, he endured fights and teasing because of his birth. Later, Robert received a sum of money and a baronetcy from the prince regent in token for a favor. Despite his new title, Robert is not received at any social function sponsored by a lady of the ton, although he is popular enough with the men.

Robert leaves London under orders from the fickle prince to marry at once. While he is investigating his new estate, Robert plans to see if he can learn about some children who disappeared; he works for a man trying to ascertain their whereabouts. When Robert arrives, he is surprised to find three young women at the estate, and agrees to Alex’s proposal that she stay on as the housekeeper. Alex is also surprised when she meets Robert. A few days ago, Margaret had given her her mother’s locket which is supposed to be magical – when a woman opens it she sees the face of her true love. Robert looks like the face Alex glimpsed for a second in the locket.

The road which Robert and Alex travel in their relationship is a rocky one. They both have baggage from the past, his illegitmacy and her dislike of the male sex because of her horrid father. They both fear intimacy for with intimacy comes vulnerability and the chance of being hurt. Alex has the additional worry over the fate of the children whom she loves so much.

All the problems that Alex and Robert face are wrapped up at the end, perhaps a bit too quickly. If any two characters cried out for a nice long wallow in torture and angst, they did. But in the short span of this book I heaved some sighs at their problems and smiled at the happy ending which they richly deserved. As I said before, Alex has two sisters and at the end of the book, it’s time for Tessa to get the locket. I’ll be watching for her story.