The Disenchanted Heiress

Born in faraway Canton yet raised in England, Amelia Fitzwater has always fallen just short of being a true lady, even if she were the niece of an earl. But when her stepmother despises her enough to arrange her in marriage to an upstart tradesman’s son, Amelia gathers her things and steals away on a quest for her late mother’s Chinese roots. Jacob Hawthorne is just about to spread his wings when his mercenary father insists on pinning him down in marriage. With his bachelor days dwindling, Jacob uncharacteristically agrees to escort the bewitching, mysterious stranger he finds at the London Docks on one last, grand adventure and chance at a purposeful life. When dangers and disappointments bind them together in friendship and more, Jacob and Amelia gradually discover that what they’re running away from and what they’re careening towards might just be the very same thing.