Book Blurb
After her father's death Lady Caroline Simmons discovers she and her beloved younger brother have nothing but debt. She is forced to have a factor make an arranged marriage for her with a wealthy planter in the colonies who agrees to pay her father's debts and continue paying for her brother's schooling. When she arrives in the New World, alone and penniless, Caroline is greeted by a man she assumes she is to wed, but soon discovers he is the son of the man she must marry.
Raff has come to Charleston for more reasons than escorting his father's bride. Knowing the power of the British and the tensions between them and the Indians, he continually tries to bring about a treaty between the Cherekee and England...one that will be fair to his mother's people and that the British will honor. After meeting Caroline he feels some compassion for her and tries to get her to return to England. When she refuses his request he has no choice but to take her to his father.
Seducing Caroline is easy. She is an innocent, and though Raff made no promises, he knows she thinks he will marry her. But despite the feeling he has for her, Raff leaves Caroline with his father, and returns to the Cherokee with the govenor's offer of peace.
Caroline is heart broken, but she quickly learns that life on the frontier is hard. She has a friend in Mary, Raff's sister-in-law, and the Cherokee women who come to help at the plantation. She finds her future husband contemptable, and those feelings spread to the son, Raff, who seduced her, then brought her here.
Raff returns when the threat of war between the Cherokee and English intesifies. He wants to take Caroline and Mary to Charleston, out of harm's way. But by this time Mary is too pregnant to travel and Caroline has wed Raff's father, though in name only. Caroline knows she has to submit to her husband because she is pregnant. Both women refuse to leave when Raff heads to Charleston to take the Cherokee response to the English governor. While he is gone, renegade Cherikee warriors attack the plantation, kill Raff's father and capture Caroline. Raff goes after Caroline as the frontier ignites into warfare.
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Toot's Review by Stacy Sabala
Caroline is
penniless and the daughter of the late earl.
She wants to take care of her younger brother, so she agrees to marry a
trader who lives in the colonies. She
faces the hardships that the frontier presents.
Raff is the son of her future husband.
He meets her and escorts her to her new home. He is an interesting character. He is half Cherokee but attended schools in
England. He is caught between two
worlds. He hates his father for what he
did to his mother. His father is a
horrible man who cheats and steals to get ahead. Unfortunately, poor Caroline walks right into
the middle of a couple of wars. One is
between Raff and his father, the other is between the English and the
Cherokee.
The author
projects what the tensions were like and the uncertainty. The settlers were scared, and Raff was
walking a thin line promoting peace.
Seeing how the author portrayed the relationship between the two groups
was intriguing. Then add Raff’s family
ties and it gets complicated. I felt for
Caroline. She has no idea what she is
getting herself into but has no choice.
Then her relationship with Raff is so heartbreaking. His intentions were not what she expected,
and she fights her feelings so hard. Her
heart needs protecting as she becomes a target. She becomes a character with emerging
strength. She surprises me with what she
is capable of handling. I wanted to
shake her because of her stubbornness at times.
I also felt the same about Raff.
The storyline was good, I liked the surprises and the political issues
threaded throughout. It was a good read.
I give it a 4 out of 5.
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