The Hidden Heart

April 1, 1986
When her eccentric naturalist father dies on the upper reaches of the Amazon, young Lady Tess Collier sets out to follow his last wishes: return to England and marry well. But Tess, who had accompanied her father on his expeditions since childhood, is as unconventional as she is beautiful. She falls in love with Gryphon Meridon, a sometime privateer and blockade runner who is afflicted with a serious lack of selfworth that stems from a childhood tragedy. Although he and Tess share one rapturous kiss, he believes himself unworthy of her. Tess then turns to Stephen Eliot, who has more than enough skeletons rattling around the closets of his estate. Gryphon eventually returns to save Tess from Stephen. And once Gryphon sheds his neurosesalong with his clothesthis book proves most satisfying.