The Second Mrs. Darcy by Elizabeth Aston

Mrs. Octavia Darcy and her husband Captain Darcy were living in India when the Captain took ill and left Octavia widowed. Nearly penniless because of the entailment on her late husband’s property in England, Octavia returns to London to live with her half sister and family. It is not a pleasant situation. None of Octavia’s half brothers and sisters have ever been the least bit kind to her. Nor did they ever forgive their father for marrying a nobody half his age, a woman who died while giving birth to Octavia. Despite her meager funds and the cruelty inflicted upon her at the hands of her family, Octavia does her best to be content. They press her to remarry and at the same time taunt that no one would want her. Her brothers approach George Warren, the man who has inherited the Darcy estate, to ask for an allowance for Octavia but he is known as a cruel and hardened man and turns them away. But as fate would have it, Octavia learns that she has inherited a great fortune from a woman on her mother’s side of the family, an aunt she never knew existed. She can finally be independent and do as she wishes without interference from anyone, especially her family. Wanting to know more about the woman she has inherited from and others in a family previously unknown to her, Octavia sets out to Yorkshire. While there, she meets Sholto Rutherford, a wealthy and powerful man of politics. Their first meeting is anything but cordial, but when Octavia’s new fortune and good name are threatened, Sholto may be the only person who can save her. The Second Mrs. Darcy is another wonderful story in the continuing saga of the Darcy family, and a must read for anyone who enjoys the works of Jane Austen. Although a gentle read it will hold reader interest throughout with its colorful characters and sometimes humorous descriptions of society dictates and customs of the time. Get ready for a first-rate read and a warm, feel good finish for more than just the heroine.