"The Painter's Daughter" by Julie Klassen

 


Soon to rejoin his regiment, Captain Stephen Overtree goes looking for his older brother Wesley, a free spirited artist who has slacked off on his duties as heir of the family estate. Stephen is dismayed to find that Wesley has left England for a painting trip to Italy. Not only that, he's also left behind one broken heart and an unborn child. 

Sophie Dupont never meant to let things go so far with Wesley, and she never dreamed he would leave before she could tell him about the upcoming baby. She can't hide her condition from Wesley's stern and observant brother, who shocks her by promptly proposing marriage in order to save Sophie and the child from ruin. Stephen's somewhat prescient former nanny has told him that she believes he won't live to see his inheritance, and acting on the knowledge that she could be a respectable widow in the near future, Sophie accepts Stephen's offer.

The two travel to Overtree Hall, where they try to hide the fact that they are strangers from Stephen's family and friends. How long can Sophie keep her pregnancy a secret? Will Wesley return, and what will he think if he figures out he is the father of Sophie's child? As Stephen returns to military service, he doesn't know if he'll come back, or how the relationship might change with the woman he is swiftly coming to love.

This book from Julie Klassen holds some of her classic Regency mystery style, though not as much as her earlier releases. I felt there was a lack of emotional depth in the plot, as there seemed to be a lot of telling rather than showing with regard to characters' feelings. I was also somewhat taken aback at the kinds of things mentioned in conversation, as on a few occasions they did not seem appropriate to the time period. I would recommend this and other Klassen stories to fans of the Regency Era.