The Elusive Miss Wakefield

Charlotte Morton was presented with a tragic and difficult dilemma when her twin brother, Oliver, died after an unfortunate accident. Before he died, he made her promise that she would present herself into the family of the young lady Georgiana Stavely, whom he had met only two months earlier. They had fallen in love even upon first meeting and had made their ambitious plans for the future, all of which now lay in ruins. To provide Georgiana with the protection of his name, they had secretly married. He made his sister promise that Georgiana, and the child she would eventually bearhis childwould be protected and looked after. She had never met the young lady but had learned a little of the family from her brother. Some of the stories she heard did not paint an encouraging picture. The opportunity to become a close companion and friend to the young lady, without revealing her own identity or interest, was unexpectedly presented to her. However, she had to take on the identity of another in order not to be recognized as Olivers sister, with all of the difficulties that that would introduce. When Georgianas own brother, Henry, appeared on the scene late one night, the initial gentle deception soon grew into much more than she could easily handle. The circumstance rapidly went beyond her control when Georgiana died giving birth, leaving her to look after the baby, and to deal with Henry. With all that was happening, she knew that she had to take the baby with her and escape the suddenly impossible situation she was caught up in before her deception and other elements of her past caught up with her. She hoped Henry might forgive her for what she had to do and for other deceptions she now must hide from him. She knew that he would never give up on finding her, though it was to be six years coming to that pointand not a moment too soon, with so much hanging in the balance concerning all of their futures.