Autumn Rose (Signet Regency Romance)

This is the story of Honora (Nora) Dillon and her daughter Miranda who live outside London (in Hampstead) where Nora supports herself by writing popular novels - they live simply, and the description of their home, etc is very well done. We are privy to Nora's background of privilege and her emotions and actions (running away with Miranda's father) when her mother dies and father remarries through a short prolog, though her daughter is not. Enter hero number one, Jeremy, who assists Miranda home after she is shaken up rescuing a child from a carriage accident. Jeremy and Miranda become friends and then secretly bethrothed - when Jeremy tells his mother, she goes to his guardian (Jeremy is only 20) and godfather - enter hero number 2, Sam. Of course mother and guardian immediately think that mother (and maybe daughter) are scheming and vulgar! and will be easy to buy off; when Sam meets Nora, he immediatly realizes this is not the case, but finds out that Nora, herself, is - for unknown reasons - as much opposed to the match as he is. What ensues is a charming plot where the adults conspire to allow the young folks to meet each other on their contrasting "home turf" in an attempt to show them how all "impossible" it all is. Of course, nothing works out that way... we see that Jeremy is a very thoughtful and mature young man with a good awarenss of what the "problems" may be, and how to go about solving them. We follow Nora as she comes to terms with the lonliness of losing a daughter (to marriage) and her past.