Charity Girl

 

By Georgette Heyer

A Regency Romance

Viscount Ashley Desford is attending a dinner party when he accidentally meets young Cherry Steane. She wasn't allowed to attend the party because she lives with her aunt as an unpaid employee. Abandoned by her father, she was reluctantly taken in by her aunt, who treats rather unkindly. Desford finds Cherry interesting and spends a few moments talking to her in the hallway as she peers down into the room from the upstairs, hoping to get a glimpse of the festivities. 

Unfortunately, one of her cousins sees her chatting with Desford and tells the aunt who gives Cherry a severe scolding. Feeling she can't bear living in such a cold and unloving household, Cherry packs her few belongings and runs away, where Desford, who is traveling back to London, comes across her trudging alongside the road the next morning. 

When he finds out she has run away, he tries to talk her into returning to her aunt's home. But she flatly refuses and seems to be desperate to get away. So he offers to escort her to her grandfather's house in London. But when they get there, the house is closed up and none of the neighbors knows where the grandfather has gone. 

Not knowing what else to do with the girl, Desford takes her to a close woman friend, Hetta Silverdale. Hetta and Desford have been friends since childhood, and he views her as a sister and is depending on her to help him now. It takes a bit of persuading, but he gets Hetta to agree to let Cherry stay with her while he tries to locate the grandfather. 

Hetta does not live alone, she lives in the family home with her widowed mother and her younger brother, Charlie. At first, Cherry gets along with Hetta, the mother and Charlie very well. But then Charlie steals a kiss and the mother turns against Cherry and gives her a lecture on encouraging men to come on to her which Cherry certainly did not do.

Meanwhile, Desford is traveling around England, trying to track the grandfather down without any luck. He eventually finds him but discovers the grandfather has recently gotten married again and the new wife, the ex-housekeeper, makes it very clear that she is willing to take Cherry in as an unpaid employee, which is exactly the situation that caused Cherry to run away from her aunt.  And the grandfather refuses to give Cherry any financial support to help her out. 

Desford returns to Hetta only to find everyone upset because Charlie and Cherry are both missing. And Cherry's father, who everyone assumed was dead, has suddenly shown up at the Silverdale home, demanding his child and declaring Desford seduced her and ruined her. 

But things are not as bad as they seem because Desford's younger brother, Simon, has become involved and with his help, everything turns out as well as can be expected.  He tells Desford, at the end of the story, "But if you should get into any more scrapes, Des, just send me word, and I'll post straight back to rescue you!" 

For a romance novel, there is really no romance in this story. Mainly it is about Desford's efforts to help out Cherry.

Sometimes even a favorite author can be disappointing. 

Here is a review by Austenprose.