Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting.

She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. Mary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. And, while he may believe he's found an obvious candidate in the beautiful 25-year-old Lady Estelle, she is most certain that they could never make a match. When Justin arrives and invites Estelle and her brother to accompany Maria to Everleigh Park to help with her distress, she begrudgingly agrees, for Maria's sake.Īs family secrets unravel in Maria's homecoming, Justin, too, uncovers his desire for a countess. He travels to her home to fetch her back to the family seat at Everleigh Park.Īlthough she adored him, once, Maria now loathes Justin, and her friend, Lady Estelle Lamarr, can see, immediately, how his very name upsets her. A dark, dour man, he, nonetheless, takes it as his responsibility to care for his half-sister, Maria, when her mother dies. And sometimes, it just takes one person to pull it back together.Īs a young man, Justin Wiley was banished by his father for mysterious reasons, but now, his father is dead, and Justin has been Earl of Brandon for six years. This innocuous agreement proves to be one that will topple their worlds, as each dance steadily ensnares them in a romance that forces the two to question what they are willing to sacrifice for love.Sometimes, just one person can pull a whole family apart. Still they agree to share one waltz at each ball they attend. They return to London the following Season, both committed to finding other, more suitable matches. They know there is no question of any relationship between them, for she is nine years older than he. Both are surprised when their sled topples them into a snowbank and they end up sharing an unexpected kiss. She simply enjoys his company as they listen to carolers on Christmas Eve, walk home from church together on Christmas morning, and engage in a spirited snowball fight in the afternoon.

That, however, is the last thing on her mind when she meets Colin Handrich, Lord Hodges, at the Westcott Christmas house party. During a rare white Christmas at Brambledean Court, the widow Elizabeth, Lady Overfield, defies convention by falling in love with a younger man in this historical romance novel in the Westcott series.Īfter her husband's passing, Elizabeth Overfield decides that she must enter into another suitable marriage.

Mary balogh someone to cherish