A LADY BECOMES A GOVERNESS - Diane Gaston
The Governess Swap, Book 1
Harlequin Historical
ISBN: 978-1-335-05175-2
July 2018
Regency Romance
1816
Aboard a packet ship crossing the Irish Sea, Lady Rebecca Pierce is on her way to England to marry a man she despises. She bumps into another woman in the ship's passageway, a woman who is her mirror image! Anxious to learn if they are related, Lady Rebecca and Claire Tilson retire to Rebecca's stateroom to talk and share details of their lives. Immediately, they hatch a scheme to fool the other passengers and trade places, i.e. they switch clothes and hairstyles and retire to each other's cabins to sleep. The next morning no one questions their switched identities, but when a storm rents apart the ship, Claire (posing as Rebecca) is washed out to sea and Rebecca (posing as Claire) is pushed into a lifeboat only to be cast into the water when the boat smashes into the rocks.
Viscount Garret Brookmore arrives in Holyhead to collect his new governess, Claire Tilson, hoping she has survived the shipwreck. Only eleven people out of the original forty aboard the packet remain, and fortunately, Claire is among them, something for which Garret is extremely grateful. His new role as the Viscount Brookmore is demanding, taking him away from his regiment and throwing him into the responsibility of his brother's estate, as well as caring for his two orphaned nieces.
Garret finds Rebecca/Claire feverish and recovering from her ordeal. When she finally awakens, Rebecca opens her eyes to the stranger who must be Claire's new employer sitting at her bedside. Should she confess and reveal her identity? Or, stay silent and accept a new life as Claire, the governess? Even the prospect of her demotion from Lady to mere governess fills Rebecca with more hope than the dismal future awaiting her in a forced marriage to a loathsome Baron. Claire did not speak of her work, but she did tell Rebecca she had no family, that she was alone. So why not continue the disguise? Rebecca decides to live Claire's life for her and escape her own.
Now, A LADY BECOMES A GOVERNESS! Rebecca is sure she can manage to be an almost-proper governess to Garret's nieces, nine-year-old Pamela, and seven-year-old Ellen. She starts by asking what they learned from their former governess, or what activities they participated in each day. Rebecca's biggest obstacle is remembering to demote her own actions from lady to paid employee. Meanwhile, Garret is forced to stay at Brookmore House rather than return to Lady Agnes, his fiancé in London. His brother mismanaged the estate and it is up to Garret to rebuild what has been lost. And so, they all fall into a pattern, he and Claire/Rebecca take their breakfast with the children in the tower room, and the pair of them eat the other meals together in the dining room. A few stolen kisses manage to sneak into their repertoire until Garret reveals that he is betrothed, but it is the unannounced and unwelcome arrival of Lady Agnes that rocks their routine. Lady Agnes is determined to push Garret to the altar while bringing mischief and danger in her wake.
A LADY BECOMES A GOVERNESS is the story of Lady Rebecca Pierce. It's the first book in The Governess Swap Miniseries and will be followed by Claire Tilson's story in SHIPWRECKED WITH THE CAPTAIN, coming March 2019.
A LADY BECOMES A GOVERNESS is a delightful story of one woman's courage to accept a new life much less decadent than the one she was born to. Rebecca and Garret are perfect for each other! Their story is full of vibrant secondary characters, and lots of romance and a smatter of danger. Don't miss it!
Diana Risso
