The year is 1783. The Lowcountry of South Carolina is boiling over in response to British tyranny during the waning months of the Revolutionary War. Lady Annabelle Gainsborough, a burgeoning debutant and esteemed member of London society, is not only unfairly banished from the ton but summarily dispatched to the colonial city of Charleston. Having heard of her father’s fall from grace, her future in-laws, the Duke and Duchess of Warrenton, give her a lukewarm welcome. Her fiancé, Viscount Jonathan Warrenton, is absent—completely unreachable. Unbeknown to her, he is entrenched in a colonial militia, serving under the infamous Francis Marion, better known as the ‘Swamp Fox’. She is astounded that the Warrenton family, all peers of the realm, is siding with the colonials against the Crown. How could she possibly fit into this untenable turn of events?
However, when the young couple finally connects, their attraction for each other is immediate. But will that be enough to hold them together when so many obstacles are set in their path?
Mary Reese and Deborah Burke, writing under the pen name Deborah Reese, are both grandmothers with Southern roots. Their time is divided between their families, their church activities and community service. They both enjoy reading and historical research. It has always been their dream to write a book which is fun to read, while painlessly teaching history.
They reside in Concord, North Carolina.