“My Dearest Friend” is a Regency historical romance novel set in the beauty of England. Our main character is Robert Blake, Duke of Lear, a wealthy man in his early thirties who excels at cards, although his main reason for playing is to teach his opponents the dangers of gambling. He often secludes himself at Stovely Hall, his country seat, to work through the grief he feels over the death of his brother.
His brother, Stefan, was killed defying Old Bony in the Peninsula, shot with a cannonball. He lingered for a short time, but the pain was so great, he ended his own life with a bullet. Robert takes the blame for this death upon himself—he purchased Stefan’s commission, and he feels that if he had refrained, perhaps Stefan would still be alive. In his more logical moments, though, he knows that Stefan would have gone to war anyway. He believed in the cause too much.
On one lengthy visit to Stovely, his solitude is interrupted by the arrival of a young lady named Miss Jane Chandler. Her brother Harry served with Stefan in the war and knew him well. Now Harry is injured, suffering in Portugal and must be brought home, but Miss Chandler has no way to retrieve him. If the Duke would be so kind as to write her a letter of recommendation so she could hire a boat, she would be most grateful. The Duke does her one better and offers her the use of his own yacht, The Mistral.
Jane sets sail, ready to go to her brother’s aid, but is surprised to find that the Duke has come along on her journey. He feels he’s doing her a favor, but she doesn’t care for his condescending attitude. They quarrel, but as he nurses her through a bout of seasickness, they find common ground and come to terms with their situation.
As the Duke helps Jane find her brother, their friendship grows until they can scarcely remember their sharp words. Relying on each other when others would seek to destroy them, their feelings turn to romance of the most enduring sort. If you like Regency romances, you’ll want to put this one on your list—written in the language of the era, the picture is painted for you in each sentence.
(This book was published as an e-book in 2008 by Wings ePress, Inc. and can be found here.)
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