An unexpected fortune can transform a young woman’s prospects in society, whether she likes it or not.
Miss Lydia Hesketh is a confirmed bluestocking. As she is also tall, bespectacled and has no fortune to speak of, she does not have suitors beating down her door, which is absolutely fine.
Surrounded by good friends, she enjoys her studious life until an unexpected inheritance upends her world. Lydia finds herself with the twin challenge of rebuffing her suddenly attentive suitors and managing a large estate.
As she settles into her new role, she discovers a side to life she did not know existed. Soldiers who have fought bravely at Waterloo have no jobs to go to and are wandering the countryside in search of work and food. No one cares for the returning heroes.
Realising what she wants to do with her life and her fortune, and motivated by the wounded soldier who cannot remember his past, she is determined to create a better future for others. While Lydia is set on rebuilding these heroes’ lives, it’s just possible she might transform her own!
