Descrip­tions

La vie de lady Camille Westcott a basculé le jour où elle a appris la bigamie de son père. Du jour au lendemain, elle est devenue une bâtarde. Réfugiée à Bath chez sa grand-mère, perdue dans un monde devenu hostile, Camille devient sur un coup de tête institutrice dans l'orphelinat où travaillait sa demi-sœur Anna, qu'elle tient pour responsable de son malheur. C'est là qu'elle rencontre Joël Cunningham, jeune peintre ami d'Anna et qui signifie d'emblée à Camille qu'il la trouve antipathique. Cet homme, aux manières peu raffinées, affiche cependant une virilité troublante qui va faire fondre son cœur de glace...

La vie de lady Camille Westcott a basculé le jour où elle a appris la bigamie de son père. Du jour au lendemain, elle est une bâtarde. Réfugiée à Bath chez sa grand-mère, perdue dans un monde devenu hostile, Camille devient sur un coup de tête institutrice dans l’orphelinat où travaillait sa demi-sœur Anna, qu’elle tient pour responsable de son malheur. C’est là qu’elle rencontre Joël Cunningham, jeune peintre ami d’Anna et qui signifie d’emblée à Camille qu’il la trouve antipathique. Cet homme, aux manières peu raffinées, affiche cependant une virilité troublante qui va faire fondre son cœur de glace…

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Description en VO :

Book 2 of the Westcott series is Camille's story—and the story of Joel Cunningham, who appeared in Book 1, Someone to Love, as Anna's closest friend. Camille, dispossessed after the revelation about her illegitimacy in Book 1 and living now with her maternal grandmother in Bath, has grown tired of hiding away and feeling sorry for herself. She decides to take charge of her life and makes the unlikely decision to fill the vacancy left by a departing teacher at the school in the orphanage where Anna grew up and taught. There Camille meets Joel, who volunteers as an art teacher twice a week and is not at all pleased to find her there, replacing his beloved Anna. Matters are made worse when Camille's grandmother hires Joel to paint portraits of Camille and Abigail, her younger sister.

Camille gradually comes to terms with her changed circumstances even as she accustoms herself to teaching and develops attachments to some of the children at the orphanage. She has to deal with a face to face encounter with her ex-fiancé, who chooses to be spiteful. She must face the Westcott family, who are determined not to let her go despite her illegitimacy. And all the time she is developing a grudging friendship with Joel and unwillingly falling in love with him.

Joel, who grew up at the orphanage, knowing nothing about his parentage or his secret benefactor, has made a good life for himself as a growingly successful portrait painter and teacher. When he learns, suddenly and unexpectedly, the truth about himself, he is more upset than delighted and is not at all sure he wishes to pursue his new knowledge. He finds himself turning to Camille in his distress, knowing she will understand the emotional turmoil he is experiencing. Inevitably, as she alternately annoys and encourages him, he falls in love with her.

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Humphrey Wescott, Earl of Riverdale, has died, leaving behind a fortune and a scandalous secret that will forever alter the lives of his family—sending one daughter on a journey of self-discovery...

With her parents’ marriage declared bigamous, Camille Westcott is now illegitimate and without a title. Looking to eschew the trappings of her old life, she leaves London to teach at the Bath orphanage where her newly discovered half-sister lived. But even as she settles in, she must sit for a portrait commissioned by her grandmother and endure an artist who riles her every nerve.

An art teacher at the orphanage that was once his home, Joel Cunningham has been hired to paint the portrait of the haughty new teacher. But as Camille poses for Joel, their mutual contempt soon turns to desire. And it is only the bond between them that will allow them to weather the rough storm that lies ahead...