A Closed Heart by Oster, Camille (guided reading books TXT) 📗

to you, and now Jane. A curious and strange girl, but she does have some sensibility, which is more than I can say for either of you.”

“Except in our taste of women?” Caius asked.

Octavia huffed, but she didn’t argue. “We really should all come together for supper sometime,” she finally conceded. “In fact, we should spend a few weeks at Denham together. If we go our separate ways too much, our children will lose something for it. And you cannot send Atticus to Antwerp. He is English and he needs to be in England.”

Julius rolled his eyes, but knew he would literally never hear the end of it. This was clearly going to be Octavia’s new battle.

“And we should spend Christmas together in London,” she continued.

“How about Brighton? It would be lovely with the sea there.”

“London,” she said pointedly. “There are people we should see during the holidays, and you,” she said pointedly to Julius, “if you are to achieve any of your chartist aims would do well to not break contact with the people who run this country. And don’t wail at them like a lunatic.”

“As opposed to what you tend to believe, dear sister, I’m not actually an idiot.”

“Well, I am glad you’re happy,” Caius said with a nod. “She seems a lovely woman.”

“There is no way in which she isn’t lovely,” Julius admitted. And there wasn’t.

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Other Books by Camille Oster

An Absent Wife - The desertion of his wife came as a complete surprise to Lord Lysander Warburton, even as he readily admits he never excelled as a husband. Running off with a lowly lieutenant was in line with her consistent talent for being disagreeable. Never more so when he learns her supposed demise from cholera turns out not to be true. Unfortunately, there is no choice but to retrieve his troublesome and wayward wife.

The Discarded Wife - Victorian London is a cruel place for a divorcee, but with the death of Sophie Duthie’s beloved second husband, she is now a widow, and independent for the first time in her life. She might not have much in terms of means, but with the help of her music shop, she can support herself and her son, Alfie. Even though her second marriage was happy, Sophie is done with husbands. Her first marriage taught her well that fairy tales are nothing more than illusions.

To Lord Aberley, his former wife is nothing but a scheming pariah, and unfortunately, his subsequent engagement wasn’t successful—not that he’s ever had much delusions about marriage. It is something he now wishes to avoid at all costs, but he needs an heir. It is the one duty he cannot overlook, so learning that his former wife’s son is six years old, creates serious doubt about his true parentage. Seeing the child only confirms it. Alfie Duthie is his child.

Undoing One’s Enemy - Lord Eldridge returns to London to reclaim the estate that had been stolen from him. He is determined on the ruination of the family that destroyed his, but his plans conflicts with his gentlemanly duties to the remnants of the Hessworth family, Amelia Hessworth and her ailing aunt.

Amelia Hessworth's wilful pride and determination only increases the stakes as she refuses to accept a fate less than the one she wants. She won't let circumstance or the arrogant man who’s come to throw her out of her home stop her, even as she has little choice in the short-term but to rely on support from the man who despises her. In fact, she learns to embrace the freedom outside of Society's strict expectations.

To say they don't get on is an understatement, but circumstances can be cruel.