Ashes on the Moor

Evangeline Blake was raised to be a lady of quality, but following the death from fever of almost her entire family, she and her younger sister, Lucy, fall under the guardianship of her grandfather. He tells Evangeline that she must prove her self-reliance if she wants to gain access to her inheritance and guardianship of Lucy, which means she must work as the schoolteacher in Smeatley, a factory town in Yorkshire. Evangeline has only two concerns: she has no idea how to live on her own, and she doesn't know how to teach. Irishman Dermot McCormick is a mason and single father who has been taking care of himself and his son for a while. Evangeline has no issues with the differences in their class or background; she just wants to eat, teach, and prove herself to her grandfather. Her determination and compassion begin to earn for her the trust of everyone in Smeatley, until a secret from her past forces her to choose between her old life and the life she has created.