The Gentlewoman Farmer by Emily Opal

At age seventeen, Sophia Worthington fell in love with her friend, Philip Eliot. Their love grew slowly, built over the many summers Sophia spent at his family estate, Bramblefield Park. But his meddlesome mother did not approve of their romance, so she conspired to put an end to the affair, determined that her son marry a woman better suited to their family fortune. Unbeknownst to her, Philip proposed to Sophia at their final parting, promising he would return to her in two years, when he turned twenty-one and became financially independent.

From the day of their parting, Sophia wrote to Philip faithfully, but he never responded to her letters, and his twenty-first year came and went with no sign of him. Phillip had abandoned her.

One year later, while mourning her father’s recent passing, Sophia’s domineering uncle threatens to take over her inheritance and her family home, Worthington Farm. Sophia has worked hard to restore the estate since her father’s death and will do anything to prevent it from falling into her uncle’s clutches, even if it means consenting to his absurd stipulations, which include an agreement that she marry. Honor bound, Sophia accepts the proposal from her friend and neighbor, Malcolm Burns. Handsome and well-off, she assures herself that he is an excellent match.

However, shortly after their engagement, Philip returns from his three-year absence. At first, Sophia convinces herself that they are only friends, but as time goes by, she is increasingly unable to ignore the anger, confusion, and longing surfacing within her. Now, Sophia must decide whether she will refuse Philip in favor of the stable life she’s begun with Malcom or put her farm, her livelihood, and all those who depend on her at risk to be with the man she truly loves.