Edenbrooke

After Megan Walker's "Lakeshire Park", I decided to see if I could find another charming Regency, and came across "Edenbrooke" by Julianne Donaldson. I really liked it. Twins Marianne and Cecily lost their mother a little over a year ago. Their father, bereft with grief, sent the girls to live with relatives: Cecily to London to live with a cousin, and Marianne to Bath to live with her grandmother. Marianne is unhappy in town and yearns to be back home in the country. When Cecily extends an invitation to spend several weeks at the Wynhams's country estate, Marianne can't pack fast enough. She and her maid are attacked by a highwayman and their coachman, James, is injured. Marianne manages to get them to a nearby inn where she meets a mysterious man who will only give her his first name: Philip. But he does help them out and when Marianne finally makes it to Edenbrooke, she discovers Philip is one of the Wynhams's sons. Cecily hasn't arrived from London yet, so Marianne has the run of the estate and she and Philip become fast friends. It's obvious to everyone that Philip is in love with Marianne, but she's so used to playing second fiddle to her prettier sister she doesn't believe someone as dashing and handsome as Philip could possibly be in love with her. When Cecily does arrive, she tells Marianne that's she's in love with Philip and determined to marry him, so Marianne reluctantly backs away from their friendship. It was a very sweet story without being sappy or silly.