197. A Victory for Love

Riding in the woods, beautiful young Farica encounters a handsome yet sad young gentleman called John Hamilton – whom she is sure is about to commit suicide. After intervening she is instantly, irresistibly attracted to him – but, as she explains, she is already, unwillingly, promised in marriage to Fergus, the new Earl of Lydbrooke . Not only does she not love him – she feels sure the Earl is marrying her only for her father’s large fortune (it is common knowledge the Fergus is wildly extravagant and in terrible debt). Soon it is revealed that “John Hamilton!” is actually Ivan, the true Earl of Lydbrooke – thought killed at Waterloo and replaced by Fergus a nephew of the old Earl. On hearing that Ivan is alive, Fergus had tried not once but twice to murder him in the hope of holding on to the title. Now Farica is caught up in a “crusade, of right against wrong, of good against evil that we have to win!” But the real question is can Love be the victor!