The Lily of Ludgate Hill

Lady Anne Deveril has accepted Mr. Felix Hartford’s offer of marriage, but the death of her father delays the engagement as Anne enters a period of mourning. Hart waits a year for Anne, but when she asks for more time, he is hurt by her reluctance and lashes out, ending their relationship. Several years later, with Anne still in mourning, she learns her best friend has been abducted and taken to Yorkshire. She seeks out help from Hart, who agrees to assist only if Anne will attend his grandfather’s Christmas house party in the country—and not dressed in her perpetual black mourning attire. Hart hopes this might finally be his chance to win Anne back. Unfortunately, the pair’s hurtful history is never far from the surface, so they continually snipe at each other. Only once they truly start communicating and confront some of their respective problems at home can the two repair what they thought was lost.