The theme of family honor makes this a satisfying read for someone looking for an old-fashioned tale. Money has been a problem for Eliza Chandler Edwards. As a married woman she had plenty, but only because her husband was scamming his investors. (Eliza was an innocent bystander to this.) As a widow (her husband was killed by one of his clients), she is poor as a church mouse, in part because she felt honor-bound to sell her home and personal goods to repay her husband’s victims. When the novel opens, Eliza is living in Currituck County with her great-uncle Fred, helping him run a produce stand. Just as Eliza tried to right her late husband’s wrongs, the wealthy Beckett family wants to make up for a wrong committed by a family member. Patriarch PawPaw Beckett summons handsome grandson Lancelot to track down the last heirs of Elias Chandler, a business partner cheated by PawPaw’s father. Eliza is suspicious of Beckett and the money he wants to give her, but they are clearly attracted to each other. A hurricane and the arrival of someone from Eliza’s Texas days help move the plot along.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
