Cold-blooded murder, gypsies, a secret marriage, and an orphaned baby…oh, my!

Cordelia (Delia) Barrington is terrified! The husband of her dear friend was murdered before her eyes. The murderer was interrupted before he was able to kill her, the only witness. Delia’s friends left their now-orphaned baby in her care. She fears that Mitchell Holcomb, the heir-apparent to Sir Allistair of Holcomb Park, may be behind the murder of Sir Allistair’s only son. Cordelia must get the child safely into his grandfather’s protection. How? She writes to Sir Allistair Holcomb.

Sir Allistair has been incapacitated by grief during the three months since his son’s murder. His man of business has been forwarding Sir Allistair’s mail to his heir, Mitchell Holcomb. Mitchell suspects skullduggery when he reads the letter from Cordelia. According to the letter, his recently-murdered cousin had secretly married and fathered a boy-child and that his cousin’s wife had died in childbirth. How convenient for an unscrupulous schemer!

The story unfolds as Delia and Mitchell overcome mutual mistrust, and become united against a common enemy who is in hot pursuit of them with murder on his mind. Will Sir Allistair accept his son’s secret marriage and the legitimacy of the resulting child? Will the murdered be caught? Have Delia and Mitchell each met their match? I’ll bet you know the answer to that one, anyway!

This romance is an action-mystery. I had some difficulty getting into the story. Though the characters were likeable, I didn’t get involved with them. The characters I liked best were Mitchell’s parents, very secondary characters. I did enjoy the part where Mitchell and Delia take refuge on an abandoned fortress, and Delia’s sometimes-embarrassing tendency to whistle tunes which communicate her mood. ( )