A bossy heiress and a grumpy earl make terrible housemates.
Emmaline Kenny, an upbeat young woman with perfectionist tendencies, is determined to make a difference in the lives of Regency England's older orphans. At twenty-four, she considers herself admirably independent and beyond marriageable age, so she dedicates her time and wealth to establishing a home for her sister and elderly aunt, as well as a trade school of sorts for a few struggling youths. When Emmaline finds the perfect address for her home and school in rural England, she purchases it and plans to move in as soon as possible. She only hopes the rude, if handsome, steward leaves with the rest of the household when they depart.
Harry March has more females to care for than he had anticipated, and he's not keen to take on more. He is raising his brother's daughters, caring for his own aunt, and running an earldom he was never supposed to inherit. Now he is on the hunt for a proper governess for his young nieces, triplets who have scared off all of their nannies. When an intelligent, no-nonsense woman appears, he cannot like her attitude—too uppity by half—but he certainly cannot let her get away, especially since he has decided not to sell Amblewilde. Where's the sense in uprooting his aunt and moving his nieces to London when he and his horses are happy right where they are?
On the appointed date, Emmaline relocates her sister and aunt to Amblewilde only to find that the rude person she met on her first visit is actually the earl who owns the house, and he's not moving. In fact, he thinks she has accepted a post to take charge of his nieces, and he cannot believe she comes with furniture and relatives of her own.
With a surfeit of confusion and contradictory letters from their solicitors and agents, Harry and Emmaline are forced to temporarily meld their homes and families. A brief truce holds until Emmaline's first students arrive, a small detail she had put off telling Harry about. These young people cause more than a little commotion in the already tumultuous household. Harry soon discovers the solitary life he's led until now holds less and less appeal, especially if it means losing the one person who's made him appreciate living again.
Amblewilde, a sweetly spicy and gently witty Regency romance novel, is the first book of the New Beginnings series.
Addie Bealer lives with her husband and a crazy doodle in South Carolina's lush upstate where she writes Regency & contemporary romance, fiction, memoir, and poetry. She is the author of the Regency series New Beginnings, which includes her debut novel "Amblewilde" and its stand-along sequel "Briarhaven." Her short romances have been published in several volumes of Carolina Romance Writers' "Love in the Lowcountry" and Hearts Through History's "A Season for Second Chances." When not writing, Addie enjoys working in her art studio, visiting her grandbabies in Charleston, and traveling for research and foodie adventures.
