Robin Lee Hatcher | Dear Lady

Dear Lady

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

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Book #1 in the Coming to America Series

June 1897 — New Prospects, Montana, is nothing like England. Noblewoman Beth Wellington, fleeing from the fiancé her father had chosen for her, finds America terrifying and beautiful at the same time. But she has the good fortune of becoming the town's schoolmistress, and her young pen pal, Janie Steele, is as precious as she'd imagined she would be. Janie's father, Garret, is another matter entirely.

Dear Lady

Look for the Value Edition ($6.99) available in May 2008

In this rewrite of a previously released 1997 secular romance of the same name, Hatcher reaffirms her calling to the Christian market. In 1897, Lady Elizabeth "Beth" Wellington flees an arranged marriage in England to become a school teacher in New Prospects, Montana, the home of her young pen pal Janie Steele. Janie's father, Garrett, expects that Lady Beth will want to be waited on hand and foot, but Beth surprises him by moving into a tumbledown cabin. As Beth settles into her new life, her feelings for Garrett grow while she fends off the mayor's hot pursuit. With more emphasis on the role of the church in the developing West and deeper religious introspection for the main characters, Hatcher easily shifts to a new market with a title that will appeal to Tracie Peterson's fans. For all collections.
— Library Journal

A very highly recommended historical romance, DEAR LADY is wonderfully entertaining from first page to last and will leave the reader eagerly looking forward to the next book in this thrilling new series.
— The Midwest Book Review

Prologue
April 1897

"America!" The word rushed through the belly of the great steamship like the mighty winds that blew across the Atlantic. "America!"

Elizabeth Wellington grabbed hold of the hands of her two friends, her heart hammering with mingled joy and fear. "America," she whispered, testing the country's name on her lips. She exchanged glances with Mary Malone and Inga Linberg and recognized the same feelings in their eyes.

They rose together to become part of the surging crowd, hurrying to get their first glimpse of land in two weeks. Two weeks of cramped quarters, little privacy, poor food, and the smells of salt water and seasickness.

On deck, a bitter wind cut through Beth's gown and shawl, raising gooseflesh on her arms, but she paid it no heed. She couldn't have turned back anyway. Not with the other steerage passengers pressing her forward.

Inga's grasp tightened on Beth's hand. "Look!" She pointed with her free hand. "The statue!"

"Saints be praised," Mary whispered in awe. "Will you look at that. Sure and I've never seen the like, m'lady. Have you?"

For several weeks Beth had been reminding Mary that she was no longer "m'lady," that she was simply Beth Wellington, an immigrant to America like nearly everyone else on board the RMS Teutonic.

But as she stared at the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, she forgot to scold. She was too overwhelmed.

What would she find in this new country? Was she right to have run away from everything and everyone she'd ever known? From England? From Perceval? Had she made a terrible mistake, coming to America?

Beth had spent her entire life at Langford House, never venturing farther away than London for the Season. She'd grown up surrounded by the familiar, by things and people she knew as well as she knew herself. She'd known the food she would have every morning for breakfast. She'd known the mood her father was in with a single glance. She'd known the turning of the seasons and what each one would bring.

The ten days she and Mary had been in Southampton before departing on the ship, followed by the two weeks at sea, had often seemed like an odd dream, one from which she might awaken at any moment. But suddenly she realized she wasn't going to wake up, because this was real. She had severed her ties with England.

America was her new home.

"Sure and we've made it." Mary placed a hand on her own gently rounded stomach, as if to reassure the child that was growing inside. "We're here at last."

Beth felt a tiny catch in her heart. A few weeks ago Mary Malone had been merely a maid at Langford House. In all the months or was it longer? she'd worked for the Wellingtons, the young Irishwoman had rarely said more than a "Yes, mum" or "No, m'lady" to Beth. It had surprised her how quickly Mary had changed from a servant into one of her dearest and best friends. If not for Mary's help, Beth would now be married to Perceval Griffith.

A fate worse than death.

Inga Linberg had befriended Beth and Mary, two obviously confused and misguided travelers, while they were still in Southampton. Inga's father had helped them secure passage on the steamship, and it was Inga who had educated them on what to expect, both at sea and during the immigration process yet to be endured. Beth had become most fond of the tall, plain Swedish girl in the brief time they'd known one another.

But now they were in America, and Beth realized how much she was going to miss her friends as they each went their separate ways Mary to wed the father of her unborn child; Inga with her family to Iowa, where her father would pastor a church; and Beth to Montana.

Montana, a place far, far from England, as far away as she could get from an arranged marriage to a man she detested.

She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. Silently she promised herself she would face what tomorrow might bring, no matter what it was. It could be no worse than what she'd left behind.