This Land This Love

Aden Sawle cares for only two things in life: his land and lovely Rebecca Cottrel, the only daughter of a wealthy publican. But Rebecca has been educated above her station and her dreams are all of Sir Victor Roth, her best friend's handsome husband--an impoverished farmer is no match for her, despite her unwilling attraction. So Aden distracts himself with another girl, until tragedy leaves Rebecca orphaned and alone in the world. Realizing her own vulnerability, Rebecca takes refuge in marriage with Aden and, despite such unpromising beginnings, the match looks like a happy one. Through hard work and shrewd business deals Aden amasses a fortune and at last is able to offer his darling the position in society she deserves, as the lady of the wealthiest landowner in the district. But when a band of gypsies comes to work in Aden's fields, they bring with them a reminder of his final fling with a local girl, a reminder that threatens the life he and Rebecca have made together. For Rebecca is about to discover the first of many secrets the man she has come to love has kept from her, in Linda Sole's This Land This Love.