Good book about two lonely and stubborn people. Frances inherited her uncle's farm when he died. Frances is the illegitimate daughter of her mother and a married man, a man who abandoned her mother when she needed him most. Uncle Robert raised Frances to be independent and wary of trusting any man after her mother's death. Frances was bullied, ostracized, and ridiculed all her life because of her mother. Now she is left to work the farm alone, exhausted at the end of every day.

Lt. Jonah Gray returned from Waterloo to find that his brother-in-law stole their life savings and abandoned Jonah's sister and two children. With what little money Jonah had left, he purchased a dilapidated cottage and hoped to find a way to support them all. After meeting Frances, he thinks that marrying her may be the path to a better life for Jane and the children if he can win her favor.

Neither Jonah nor Frances ever planned to marry. Frances has severe trust issues regarding men - and who can blame her with the way she is treated? Jonah saw enough of the bad side of marriage from his abusive and negligent parents and Jane's marriage to swear off the institution. The first meeting between Jonah and Frances wasn't promising. Jonah is a handsome man and used to women chasing him, but his attempt to charm Frances falls flat. The next couple of encounters don't go well either. It isn't until Jonah comes to her defense against an obnoxious man that she begins to soften slightly. Jonah realizes that he needs to win Frances's trust before anything else.

While Jonah thinks he's being practical and calculating in his pursuit of Frances, he's disturbed by the protectiveness he feels toward her and his inability to keep his mind off her. Frances suffers from the same malady. She doesn't understand why he stirs feelings in her that she's never felt for anyone else. The sparks of attraction between them were evident from the start, as was their dismay about it. Jonah is smart enough to back off any indication of his attraction and offers Frances simple friendship as a way to get his foot in the door. The attraction still simmers under the surface, but Frances relaxes a little in his company. I loved that Jonah didn't push too hard but showed Frances the benefit of occasionally accepting help. It isn't easy for Frances to go against her training and her struggle is obvious.

Eventually, circumstances make it necessary for them to marry. Jonah suggests it as a business partnership, as neither wanted a spouse. There are certain benefits to marriage that they indulge in, claiming that it is practical, too. When friendship and attraction grew into love, neither believed the other could feel the same way. As Jane's health worsened and Jonah became desperate to find a solution to her housing situation, he made a boneheaded decision. I wanted to shake him and yell at him to talk to Frances and tell her the truth. The solution was right in front of him. Instead, his plan would betray Frances in the worst way possible. I ached for her when she found out about it; her pain leaped off the pages. I had high hopes that Jonah would do the right thing after all. I loved the ending, as Jonah had a very moving, emotional grovel scene while Frances made him work for his forgiveness. The final chapter was a good wrap-up for the story. ( )