A Delayed Courtship

Tragic pasts, deception, and second-chance love

As a young girl, Fanny found escape from her unstable home by roaming in the woods and riding her mare. Free and innocent of guile, she was easy prey for a blackguard. Three years later, she attends the Season where she meets Andrew, Earl of Nethercote. It is love at first sight.

Fanny's nemesis, the man who had ruined her, is also in London. Furious at her refusal to yield to him, he uses his power to vilify her. Fanny loses her reputation—and Andrew's love. She returns home, and her father forces her into a repugnant marriage.

Crushed, Andrew leaves England and throws himself into the shipping business. Unable to forget Fanny, he comes back when she is widowed and tries his utmost to win her back.

Will past pain keep Fanny and Andrew apart? And what of the anonymous letters that threaten to destroy her if she accepts Andrew?

Previously published in April 2019 as No Longer Flighty Fanny under the pen name Jessica Spencer