She’s economised considerably, reducing the staff to a bare minimum and doing a lot of the work herself it’s her only chance to have a house and home of her own, as she doesn’t ever want to get married, so she’s worked hard and is determined to keep the house that has become her home.Įven though she and Avery have been corresponding for nearly five years by the time he returns home, Lily is in no way prepared for the way he affects her from their first meeting. In that time, Lily has had some success in turning a profit, but she’s not in the clear yet. Yet he still carries with him his ideal of home and is still determined to claim Mill House when he returns to England.

Avery has gained a reputation as an adventurer and explorer, and has also made himself a lot of money by writing up the stories of his exploits which are serialised in a popular newspaper.

Taking the house is, as far as Lily is concerned, the lesser of two evils.ĭuring the five years of Avery’s absence, he and Lily exchange a series of letters, that are full of biting sarcasm (without being nasty), humorous banter and, sometimes, emotional honesty. And besides, the alternative, receiving a small income instead, but one she will lose unless she publicly denounces the Women’s Suffrage movement… well, that just isn’t going to happen. But she doesn’t really have an alternative with her parents both dead, she is living pretty much hand-to-mouth, and the prospect of having a real home – even one that might end up being temporary – is too much to resist. Lily Bede is astonished to find herself the recipient of a house, and does worry that if she accepts the bequest, she will be doing the legitimate heir – whom she has never met – a bad turn. Avery is furious, but he can do nothing, and opts to leave England rather than watch someone else take possession of the only home he has ever known. Miss Bede is to take possession of the property for a period of five years, and at the end of that time, if the farm and land are profitable, the house will belong to her fully.

It’s a gloriously romantic, character-driven story set at the end of the 19 th century, in which our hero – a famous explorer – and heroine – an advocate of women’s suffrage – butt heads over the home they both love, sniping and pushing each other’s buttons as the attraction between them deepens.Īvery Thorne finds himself all but disinherited upon the death of his uncle Horatio, who, believing Avery to be a weakling and in need of discipline and humility, has granted stewardship of his home and lands to the illegitimate daughter of his late wife’s sister, nineteen-year-old Lilian Bede. Connie Brockway’s My Dearest Enemy combines two of my favourite things – an enemies-to-lovers romance and a story in which letters play an important part (I do love an epistolary novel!).

My Dearest Enemy by Connie Brockway