Lady Charlotte’s Christmas Vigil by Caroline Warfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: None – Stand Alone Novella
Publication Date: 10/20/17
This is a very sweet and clean novella.
The story opens in November of 1818 with a man being dumped on the threshold of his lodgings in Venice, Italy. He’s unconscious and smells of the sewer. This is our introduction to the ne’er do-well brother of Lady Charlotte (Lottie) Tyree. He is David Tyree, Earl of Ambler who is on his grand tour and Charlotte is accompanying him because she’s always wanted to see Rome and he wanted to give her that. However, he has spent all of his time drinking and carousing and has seen none of the sights they were there to see.
The cause of David’s wet condition was the canal – he had decided to swim it just as George Gordon, Lord Byron had done. When he developed a very high fever, Charlotte sought out the services of a physician, Salvatore Caresini (Salvo). The diagnosis was dire – few survived putrid fever at that time.
Charlotte was determined to nurse him rather than leaving it to the doctor and his assistant. The doctor was just as determined that the only person near David would be his assistant, Giacomo because he had immunity to the disease. You have two very stubborn, protective and determined people coming together and they have to find a way to help each other and save lives.
Salvo physically removes Lottie from the rooms her brother is staying in and locks her out. He then takes her to stay at his own home with his mother and children. You will love the children – they are unruly, holy terrors. The children don’t know what to make of Lottie and the mother doesn’t trust her – after all her son is a very good looking widower!
When more and more cases of the fever show up Salvo asks Lottie to do her best to keep his children away from the market where it is ripe to catch the disease and to see that his mother only uses fruits and vegetables brought in from outside the city and only water from the well is used for cleaning. Even the well water must be boiled before drinking. She does her very best, but the disease still strikes the doctor’s home. Lottie does all she can to nurse the children she’s come to love and to nurse her brother as well.
What a lovely story of different classes and religions coming together to find love and happiness. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
