Winter Garden (2000), a historical romance by Adele Ashworth, follows a British spy charged with breaking up a smuggling ring in the south of England. The second book in the Winter Garden series, it is highly popular with regency romance and historical romance fans. A bestselling, award-winning romance author, Ashworth pursued singing professionally for many years before turning to beauty pageants and finally to journalism, at which point she realized she was destined to become a novelist. Winter Garden takes place in Britain in 1849. The protagonist, 29-year-old British spy Madeleine DuMais, is the daughter of a French actor and an English naval officer. Since her father spent most of his time at work, she grew up with her mother. Too busy living a glamorous celebrity lifestyle and taking opium, Madeleine’s mother neglected her. Madeleine grew up to be highly self-sufficient and independent. She doesn’t want children until she knows that she can look after them better than her parents ever looked after her. One day, the British Government gives Madeleine a new assignment to investigate a smuggling ring that smuggles opium into England using a small coastal town to do it. Madeleine’s job is to gather enough evidence on the gang to charge them with the crime. Madeleine isn’t just motivated to help the British Government. She wants to bring down the opium gang because gangs like them turned her mother into an opium addict. Madeleine travels to the coastal community of Winter Garden in southern England. Here, she meets her partner for the mission, Thomas Blackwood. While she poses as a secretary, Thomas poses as a retired soldier writing his memoirs. The townsfolk avoid him because he is scarred and walks with a noticeable limp, but Thomas doesn’t mind. Reclusiveness helps him to stay in character. Thomas is everything Madeleine finds attractive in a man. He’s tall, handsome, chivalrous, and mysterious. Instantly infatuated with him, she suspects that he fancies her, too. Thomas is a gentleman, however. He doesn’t flirt with Madeleine, only wanting to expose the smuggling ring and keep Madeleine safe. While working together, Madeleine uncovers more information about Thomas’s past. He served as a spy in Hong Kong where he tragically lost his leg in an accident. He doesn’t like talking about the incident because it makes him feel weak and inferior. Madeleine, on the other hand, thinks that he is heroic and brave. She wants to bring him out of his shell and to show him that he is attractive no matter what happened to his leg. The townsfolk wonder why Madeleine and Thomas spend so much time together. Madeleine explains that she works for Thomas as his secretary, translating his memoirs into French. This excuse gives her the cover she needs to meet with Thomas to go over any evidence she gathers on the smuggling ring. One day, Madeleine discovers that the local baron runs the smuggling ring in Winter Garden. All that is left to do is to catch him in the act. Thomas follows her everywhere, ensuring that she doesn’t find herself in too much trouble. When she is not spying on the baron, she is flirting with Thomas and trying to seduce him. Thomas finds it strange that she is so forward. He doesn’t think she’s promiscuous, but she does sleep with men. Having has never met anyone like her, he can’t help falling in love with her. Despite Thomas’s growing affection for Madeleine, he still doesn’t make the first move. He leaves that up to Madeleine. Madeleine seduces him, and they spend many wonderful, romantic nights together. For the first time, Madeleine feels safe; she dreams about settling down with Thomas. First, they must survive this spying mission. One day, everything falls apart for Madeleine. She discovers that Thomas orchestrated the smuggling plot that started her career. She can’t understand why he would do such a thing; she feels her career since has been a lie. Thomas explains that he did it to protect her and to get her away from her neglectful mother. Her achievements since then have been her own, and she should be proud of them. Madeleine, however, isn’t so sure. Meanwhile, they gather enough information on the baron to arrest him. He is charged with running a smuggling ring. The gang falls apart, but the authorities don’t manage to arrest everyone. Thomas credits Madeleine with exposing the baron, but feeling like a fraud, she leaves for France. While vacationing in France, Madeleine thinks about what happened back in Winter Garden. She recognizes that Thomas saved her from a miserable life, and that it is up to her what she makes of her career. Just when she decides to go looking for him, he arrives in France to find her. He proposes and they return to their cottage in Winter Garden.

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Adele Ashworth

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