Plain, Prim…Perfect! Lord Steadwell’s three motherless daughters were heartbroken when their last governess ran off to elope. In her dowdy cap and spectacles, Grace Ellerby seems an ideal replacement-a nurturing, intelligent woman uninterested in marriage. No wonder Rupert doesn’t recognize Grace as the golden-haired vision at a masked ball, who slips away before midnight…. Frightened by the unwanted attentions of previous employers, Grace resolved to hide her beauty…and her growing feelings for Rupert. One enchanted evening-and a sweet, breathtaking kiss-changes everything. For with Grace’s three adorable charges playing fairy godmother, Rupert may discover his happy ending is closer than he thinks.
Grace Ellerby has not lived an easy life. As the daughter of a vicar she was safe and well taken care of until her father remarried. It was a contentious relationship between husband and wife and with her and the stepmother as well. When Grace’s father died the stepmother then sent Grace to a school where she was demeaned on a regular basis and treated cruelly because the other girls were jealous of her beauty.
When Grace grew up and became a governess the last thing she expected was to have guests of her employers coming on to her and making her life miserable. She had moved from family to family trying to escape the attentions of knaves who thought she should put out. When she applied for a position for Lord Steadwell she went in under disguise with thick glasses and a horrid mobcap that covered her hair completely.
Lord Steadwell is a man still grieving for his dead wife 4 years after her death. He had hired a governess that his three daughters loved but she had eloped with the son of a neighbor. Rupert wants the plainest governess he could find so that there would be no chance of her leaving his family and causing his daughters more heartache.
Grace and the girls start out a bit rocky but soon, through many trials and tribulations, all three come to respect Grace and enjoy her teaching. Grace and Rupert spend time together going over the girls studies and sometimes just walking in the garden. Grace soon realizes that she is in love with Rupert and wants to tell him about her true self but she’s afraid he will be mad about being duped and fire her. Rupert likes Grace as well but knows that he must marry and provide a mother for his children. He starts courting the next door neighbor who is a widow but the girls are adamantly against having a wicked stepmother. The girls implore Grace to stop the marriage and they all go about it in a strange way. Eventually Rupert finds out the truth about Grace but can Grace stay knowing her love is not returned?
This was a cute story. I liked Grace a lot and understood her feelings about men in general. They had shown themselves to be complete cads so I didn’t blame her at all for not trusting Rupert. As she wouldn’t have gotten the position if she had shown her true face it was a good thing she went in disguise.
The relationship between Grace and the three girls was lovely. I adored seeing each child come around to accepting grace in their own way. One the girls had given Grace their approval they were quite fierce in their defense of her. I have to say that I admired the children a great deal for that.
Rupert and Grace’s relationship was slow in forming. They were kind of friends but Grace knew that Rupert would never marry a governess. Rupert had no idea about Grace’s background but he knew that he liked being around Grace – even before the big reveal. I wish that we could have seen more of them together once Grace told Rupert the truth but the relationship really happened separately in their own musings. It all ended nicely I just wanted the couple to share more page space together.
Overall a nice story.
Rating: 3 out of 5
