Review: Anne's Perfect Husband by Gayle Wilson

Ian Sinclair, badly wounded fighting Napolean but mostly recovered now, discovers that he has been named the guardian of the young daughter of the man who was the cause of his war injury. He plans to have nothing to do with the child since she is safely tucked away at school up north until he has an attack of conscience thinking of an abandoned waif spending Christmas alone at school. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that his ward is not a child and that he has somehow given his word to take her off and try to give her the life that her father's peripatetic military career and non-military inspired neglect never granted her. Anne Darlington, for her part, isn't sure she wants to have a London season unless she can convince Ian that the only man for her is him. As Ian is trying to keep Anne's father's cowardice and callousness from his child, he is trying to keep her at arm's length as well. An interesting take on the concept of "the sins of the father" and "the child of mine enemy," this is, of course, a romance and so such old chestnuts will be overcome by true love. Anne's attachment to Ian seems fairly sudden and without enough evidence while Ian's love for Anne is shown growing over the course of the story. Perhaps this is because the reader can see him struggle with his feelings, but it made for more interesting reading than Anne just declaring to herself out of the blue that if she can't have Ian, she'd go back to school and take up the teaching post offered to her. So half satisfying, this could have used a bit more fleshing out.