Lady Farquhar's Butterfly

LADY FARQUHAR’S BUTTERFLY

BY

BEVERLEY EIKLI

PUBLISHED BY ROBERT HALE LONDON.

ISBN 978-0-7090-9057-1.





This Regency romance is staged in the year of 1816. Lady Olivia Farquhar had been married unhappily to a sadistic rake, who had made her act in a way that had both disgusted and terrified her. To please his lustful friends and entertain them ,she was made to dance in very flimsy clothes and display a butterfly which she had tattooed in a very private place. Her only friend and confident seemed to be her husband’s religious mentor the Reverend Kirkman, who treated her with care and tender understanding. He was the only person she felt she could turn to, when beaten and abused by her cruel husband.

Now that she was widowed she still had no peace, her husband had condemned her in his will as an adulterous wife who was not fit to bring up her young son Julian, so he had willed the little boy to be brought up by his cousin Max Atherton. Max was a war hero back from the peninsular campaign and knew nothing of Olivia, except what his cousin had said of her, as they had never met.

Unfortunately the Reverend Kirkman seemed to take it for granted that now Olivia was a widow she would marry him and under his protection she could regain both her son and her place in society. But he had changed since her husband’s death he had become very possessive and demanding and Olivia was frightened of him, fearing that life with him would be just as terrifying as it was with her late husband, or even worse.

Olivia’s aunt Eunice Dingley, who had known how bad Olivia’s marriage was to Lord Farquhar, knew that to marry the Reverend Kirkman would be a dreadful mistake too, was trying to persuade Olivia to pretend to meet Max Atherton accidently, by falling off her horse on his land.

Reluctantly Olivia agreed to carry out her aunt’s plan and while riding on the land belonging to Mr Atherton, a bad storm suddenly raged and her horse was frightened she fell in the field. Luckily Max found the frightened horse as he rode to his house, so he began search for the rider. Finding her semi conscious he jumped down from his horse and bent over her. A sudden clap of thunder sent his own horse bolting for home and he was forced to carry Olivia to his home.

Max was very concerned for Olivia and obviously attracted to her and if she only dared to tell him the truth maybe he would believe her story, but she dare not trust him and so a web of lies began to be spun.

Will Olivia be able to trust Max before it is too late? And if she does will he believe her, or will the Reverend Kirkman win and make her his wife. So many lies stand between Olivia and happiness ,can true love really happen for her against all odds. Have fun reading this Romance and learning Olivia’s fate, I am sure you will enjoy her story. I award this book.5 red Roses.AS