The Passionate and Repressed Gentleman's Guide to Lifelong Love (Part 4)

Lonning Parish holds the standard ingredients for a great romance: a youthful woman with strong opinions of marriageable age, a helpful best friend offering few obstacles to the heroine’s plots, and, of course, a young man who draws admiration everywhere he goes but is decidedly fascinated with the heroine. Naturally, the story of Miss Katherine Caroll has a bit of a snare. Even in her small parish, there are two handsome men vying for her attention: a virtuous vicar with angelic looks and a smart-mouthed gentleman who is the very picture of devilish handsomeness. As Miss Caroll’s heart is torn between them, we learn the stories of other friends in the parish, like the Widow Tigney and her healing heart, and Mr. Duke and his permanently broken one. The lives of Lonning Parish intertwine and teach Miss Caroll lessons, but will she learn them in time to capture a happy ending, or will indecision make the choices for her?As his wife and daughter struggle against a fever, Mr. Duke nervously paces the hallways of his manor. The doctors and nurses bring worse and worse news, and it seems that in bringing life into this world, his wife is likely to leave it. Mr. Duke refuses to accept this and recounts their courtship, running over each memory in his mind, searching for the key — the moment he could have changed to avoid bringing his wife to her deathbed. Having discovered the secret, he approaches her bed and asks for forgiveness, which she grants in an entirely unexpected way.