Part of Series
War widow Kitty Gordon has been left without a penny to her name. In the two years since her husband Peter’s death, the small pittance his brother had given her has run out despite economizing and taking in as much work as she could. His fellow officers had offered her help, but she’d always refused out of pride. Now she has nothing left, including pride. She seeks a post at her old home, Thackeray Close, hoping her distant relation will have pity on her and take her on as his servant. Matthias, Lord Thackeray, returned to the army after Napoleon’s escape from Elba, despite having sworn never to fight again following his best friend Peter’s death. Although he survived the bloody carnage at Waterloo, he has not been left unscathed. His leg is shattered and he has been sent home to England to heal. But when he wakes from an injury-induced fever, he finds Kitty, his first love, begging for work as his housekeeper! Honour bound to provide for his best friend’s widow, Matthias fears Kitty’s presence will create yet more wounds. Fury at his incapacity, and the strain of hiding his true feelings, make him push her away, yet he cannot deny he needs her. How can he turn the tables and make Kitty realize she also needs him?
Author
Like many writers, Elizabeth Johns was first an avid reader, though she was a reluctant convert. It was Jane Austen's clever wit and unique turn of phrase that hooked Johns when she was "forced" to read Pride and Prejudice for a school assignment. She began writing when she ran out of her favorite author’s books and decided to try her hand at crafting a Regency romance novel. Her journey into publishing began with the release of Surrender the Past, book one of the Loring-Abbott Series. Johns makes no pretensions to Austen’s wit but hopes readers will perhaps laugh and find some enjoyment in her writing. Johns attributes much of her inspiration to her mother, a retired English teacher. During their last summer together, Johns would sit on the porch swing and read her stories to her mother, who encouraged her to continue writing. Busy with multiple careers, including a professional job in the medical field, author and mother of small children, Johns squeezes in time for reading whenever possible.
