1871 . . . The very proud Duke of Wexford was about to have his orderly world blown apart. At the age of nineteen Blake Sanders had wed a beautiful, dutiful wife, and she had borne him three children. But now as mid-life approached, the Duchess had the unheard of temerity to leave him! Too mortified by her behavior to mix in ton company, Blake sought companionship with his best friend and neighbor, Anthony Burroughs and his wife Elizabeth. But Blake had forgotten the Burroughs were entertaining a houseguest, Elizabeth's distant cousin, a spinsterish 'Amazon from America'. Gertrude Finch, a champion for women's rights, had long ago decided most men were pretty useless other than Uncle Fred who'd raised her on his horse ranch near Chicago. While traveling with other Suffragists, Gert lectured women on the perils of passion, and the value of independence, but thought of neither when Blake kissed her. While opposite in nearly every way, other than an attraction neither could deny, their one night of passion would change her world, and send Gert scurrying her way back home across the ocean. When Blake discovered his heir had stowed away on Gertrude's ship, he set out on his own adventure to America, to bring the boy home and to see her once again. Traversing America's vast wilderness, Blake discovered that Gertrude had changed his life. Whether riding the rails or meeting common folk, Blake saw a whole new way of living, but most of all, he realized something about love. He found he was not immune, and his heart could love, and love deeply.
About the Author: Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject. Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She writes historical romance set on the American Prairie and in Victorian England. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer's group. Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, has been an active member of her local library board and loves to spend time near the ocean. She is the proud mother of two daughters and the wife of a man more than a few years her junior.