The Master of Blacktower

This story was like beauty and the beast set in Scotland. It stalled out in the middle and almost lost me. I was very glad when it picked up at the end but I would have liked more details in the ending.

Damaris is a young woman who's father just passed away leaving her with only a small amount of money to live on. The solicitor tells her that she must marry soon or go to live with a cranky aunt. Her options are limited for suitors and she definitely does not want to live with her aunt. She feels it is unfair that she can't support herself working as a secretary since she learned the profession helping her father. Against the wishes of the solicitor she advertises and finds that the solicitor was right when he said they would mistake her intentions. Then she got one more reply to her advertisement. This man was a distant cousin and she was surprised that he knew so much about her family. He had a scar across his face and always wore black gloves over his hands. He was very gruff but she held her own and in the end she decided to go to far off Scotland with him to put his library in order. She also meets his snarky little daughter that cannot walk. She takes pity on the girl when she realizes she has been cooped up in that room all by herself for so long. She can't help but wonder though, why there is no sign of the wife anywhere, not even tucked away in the unused wing. The people in the village told gossip about him killing his wife but she couldn't bring herself to believe that.