The affectionate adversary2005

She’s a woman of great consequence. He’s a man of little importance. But when fate throws them together, the only thing that matters is what their hearts are telling them. Charles Locke is determined to rise above his family’s meager station by building a successful tea trading business with the inheritance his father has entrusted to him. Success is his only option. But when his ship is attacked by pirates on a voyage to India, he barely escapes with his life, and all seems lost. A well-respected lady, Miss Sarah Carlyle wants nothing to do with the ill-gotten money her late father left her and her sisters. She’s determined to give it all away, devoting her life to helping those less fortunate instead of marrying for wealth only to lounge all day in grand estate or attend extravagant balls. But when Charles’s calamity lands him onboard Sarah’s ship to England, their hearts become intertwined, Charles never suspecting the largesse of Sarah's wealth and Sarah never learning of Charles’s ambitions. But one surprising revelation will test the bounds of their relationship . . . and reveal whether either of them can be trusted. Fans of historical romance and readers of Jane Austen or Bridgeton will be swooning over this clean and wholesome, opposites-attract love story. Christian historical romance Regency romance Includes discussion questions for book clubs