Resumo de Simply Love

A rape survivor and a maimed veteran help teach each other that the difference between life and existence is simply love.
Anne Jewell is a teacher at a school for girls on the outskirts of Bath. She is also an ex-governess, an unwed mother and a stunningly beautiful woman. Any one of those circumstances alone would be enough to condemn her in the eyes of polite society; but taken together, such facts make her a social pariah. Some of the few people willing to befriend her are Miss Martin, principal of the girl?s school where Anne works; Joshua Moore, current Marquis of Hallmere (cousin of her son?s father) and Freyja Bedwyn Moore, (Joshua?s wife).
Anne loves her son David, but does not want to tell him that his father raped her. She prefers to think of David as her son alone and refuses to acknowledge any other relatives. She feels the less David knows about his father, the better. Joshua knows the whole story and has offered to explain the situation to the boy. Anne will not allow it. Some day (far in the future), she will tell David everything he needs to know about his father. Meanwhile, she is the only family that her son needs.
The Marquis invites Anne and David to spend the summer at a remote estate of his brother in law, the Duke of Bewcastle. Anne reluctantly agrees when Freyja points out that since her entire family will be there, it would be an excellent opportunity for David to spend time with boys his own age.
Sydnam Butler, youngest son of the Earl of Redfield, works as a steward on the welsh estate of Glandwr, a holding of the Duke of Bewcastle. He also lost an arm, an eye and most of the nerves on the right side of his face during the Napoleonic wars. He was once a painter, but now, he cannot bear to put brush to canvas and the smell of paint nauseates him. In his younger days, he was fiercely proud and insisted on following his older brothers into military service. He paid for his recklessness when he was captured and tortured during battle. By the time he was rescued, the scars ran deeper than his face and side. He lost his ability to see the beauty in things when he was forced to confront the ugliness of war.
Anne flees when she first sees Sydnam walking along the coast. Ashamed that she of all people would judge by appearances, she seeks him out and they become friends. Almost unwillingly drawn together, they soon begin to relish each other?s company. Two kindred souls scarred more deeply inside than out, they begin to heal each other. Anne was once so proud of her beauty; she sometimes feels the rape was her fault. Sydnam joined the army to prove he was just as masculine as his older brothers were, even if he was a talented artist. In his mind, he does not deserve to paint because he denied its importance when he became a soldier.
Although this heartwarming romance displays elements of Beauty and the Beast, The Prodigal Son and The Scarlet Letter; it also contains that indefinable something extra that makes an original story an unforgettable read.

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