Dayna Leigh Cheser

Adelle's Time: Book Three - the Willow Tree Dayna Leigh Cheser

Adelle is back! After a year of recovery from her ill-fated romance with Theo (see Moria's Time), and thinking about her future, Adelle returns to London, still intent on marrying a duke . . . with a carefully thought out plan. First, she needs a companion to help her, and hires Lady Deanna. Together, they take London's social elite by storm with the dramatic introduction of Adelle's alter ego, 'Lady Mysterious' At fi rst it seems Lord Grenfell, and then Lord Hastings, may take the bait, but then, being 'Lady Mysterious' proves to be too dangerous. Realizing the price she'd pay if caught and exposed, she abandons her plan. Instead, she enlists the aid of her Uncle Sinjin, the Duke of Devonwood, to open doors for her. At Lord Pearson's ball, the host shuns her, but his son, Walter, finds the American farmer's daughter entrancing. Theo, conscripted into the Royal Navy and exiled to Australia, returns to London. Convinced the Grayson family caused his being inducted into the navy, and now a destitute and desperate deserter, he plans his revenge on the Duke of Devonwood and his brother, Adelle's father. After jumping ship in Istanbul, the formerly pompous youth, now transformed into a dangerous, hardened man, cons his way home, and stalks the family while learning to use a gun. Adding burglar and murderer to his resume, he realizes the error of his ways and flees. The family hopes he's gone for good. After a double wedding with Moria and Simon, Walter and Adelle, with the support of their families, devote their lives to children-their own, and many London orphans. Along the way, Adelle learns about love: the love of her family, of Walter, and of many other people in her life. It changes her in ways she could never have imagined. " . . . now there doth remain faith, hope, love - these three; and the greatest of these is love"