The Case of William Smith

Miss Silver #13

by Patricia Wentworth

Réédition sous de nouvelles couvertures de la série mythique de Patricia Wentworth : Miss Maud Silver Depuis la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale, William Smith est un modeste artisan dans un atelier de jouets. Mais, pendant le conflit, il fut interné dans un camp de concentration allemand. Devenu amnésique après avoir reçu un coup à la tête, il doit en partie sa survie à un rêve où il était heureux, autrefois, dans une vaste demeure. Retrouvé avec un médaillon où figurait le nom William Smith, il a adopté ce nom et tente maintenant de redevenir un simple citoyen. Mais le sort s'acharne sur lui et il est bientôt victime d'une série de dangereux accidents. Pourtant, il aspire tant à vivre en paix depuis qu'il a rencontré une mystérieuse inconnue qui s'intéresse à lui. Miss Silver trouvera là une enquête fort difficile à démêler.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Golden Age Mystery, Audiobook

Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Patricia Wentworth--born Dora Amy Elles--was a British crime fiction writer.

She was educated privately and at Blackheath High School in London. After the death of her first husband, George F. Dillon, in 1906, she settled in Camberley, Surrey. She married George Oliver Turnbull in 1920 and they had one daughter.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver, the first of which was published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, is sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series.

Reviews

[Jaline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Case of William Smith is the 13th novel in Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver Series. It is a mind-friendly story of a man who goes off to war, is injured, and loses his memory. He is given a tag with the name, ‘William Smith’ on it and eventually comes home from the concentration camp with a new talent: carving toy animals and birds for children.

He finds employment at a small toy store whose elderly owner is impressed by both his talent and his business acumen. When the elderly gentleman is injured, William Smith temporarily takes over the store.

Katharine has found herself in a bit of a bind as funds from her trust fund have been slow in reaching her, and the last payment was also reduced. She, too, is able to find employment in the toy store and she and William hit it off right away.

At one point, Katharine’s previous Guardian and present Trustee observes of a distant cousin rumoured to be her romantic interest: ”Something I don’t cotton to there. Very agreeable fellow – very good company. What the women call charming – always been a favourite. A bit too much stuff in the shop window to my way of thinking. I like them a bit plainer.” Witty!

I also had to chuckle because Katharine has no interest in her cousin at all – she has fallen in love with William, and he with her. Meantime, Detective Frank Abbot saves William’s life when he is about to be bludgeoned to death, either by design or due to mistaken identity. Frank Abbot recognizes him from a party seven years prior, but the only name he can recall is ‘Bill’. William told him he would appreciate any more information on his identity that Detective Abbot can find.

One possible source is Frank’s cousin Mildred who was also at the party with her then-fiancé. Detective Frank Abbot, frustrated after a couple of hours of questions receiving vague and disconnected answers, speaks to Miss Silver of Mildred’s reliability as a witness: ”When it comes to anything like evidence, she hasn’t really got a mind at all – she just dives into a sort of lumber-room and brings out odds and ends. If you put them together they make something, but nobody – least of all Mildred herself – can do more than guess at whether the result bears any relation to fact.”

This struck me as particularly funny because most of the key women in this novel are strong and intelligent. Not that I’m saying Frank’s cousin Mildred isn’t – but she sure did have her ‘facts’ in a muddle.

I liked the plot of this novel, and also the pacing. As you can see from the quotes, Patricia Wentworth adds wit and humour to her novels as well as the psychological insights she is known for. This is not a heavy read and I always enjoy my visits to this series because they are entertaining and relaxing. I hope to read #14 in the series next month!

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this…

My laundry didn’t get done… dirty dishes sat in the sink… we had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

I was a very happy camper… my husband, not so much.

[Susan's Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS ONE!!!



Amnesia, mistaken identities.... villainous relatives, and a heartbreakingly beautiful romance!!!



You have to read this golden oldie!

(Note: Fortunately, Patricia Wentworth's highly entertaining novels are available for a highly affordable price on Amazon.)

[Marsali Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was feeling very tired, so I knelt down to the W section of my bookcase (always a bit dangerous, due to the chance of kneeling on a shell or marble rolled there by kittenly paws) and hauled out a handful of Patricia Wentworth whodunnits. This is one of the touching ones, where a love posted as missing in the war returns - and the relationship was nicely drawn, moving without being mawkish. This is a device Wentworth uses in several books, and it leaves me wondering if it did happen with reasonable frequency post WWII.

Wentworth is fun for several reasons. Not the puzzle - the whodunnit is usually the person who's obviously ill-bred, wears a flashy tie or is rude to his/her elders, or wears over-scarlet lipstick. But the picture of genteel life in wartime and post-war Britain is fascinating, and stronger than comes across in Agatha Christies of the same period, except perhaps 'A Murder is Announced'. There's constant speculation over how to make cakes with rationed goods, or what can be done about clothes, and the moment where someone exclaimed in horror (re inviting someone to tea) 'But I've eaten the egg for this week!' conjured those days up. How much less people ate then, too - a boiled egg and bread and butter was considered perfectly adequate for an evening meal. Etiquette is important - correct telephone manners, gracious behaviour towards others. Duty matters - selfishness is also the mark of a murderer, and shouldering responsibility without grumbling the mark of a heroine.

The books are written rather to a pattern, and you have to be VERY tired to read more than three or four one after the other - but they're comfy as old slippers, and if you haven't come across Wentworth, then do give her a go.

[Christine PNW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really wasn't that much of a mystery, as the story developed pretty much along the lines I expected (although I'm perforce to say that I've read around 20 Patricia Wentworth mysteries, so it might not be as obvious to a newcomer to her work). We got an appearance from Frank Abbot, which is always great - I do hope that Miss Silver eventually finds the poor fellow a nice girl. Miss Silver's talents aren't really showcased all that well, since she figures out the same things that I figured out, and I'm just the reader.

Where this book shines is in the two main characters, William and Katharine, who are both completely delightful and well drawn. The course of true love never does run true in a Miss Silver mystery, but it prevails every time. This one is almost more of a romance than a mystery.

There are some really good side characters, as well, especially the elderly owner of the toy shop where William and Katharine are working. And Frank's ditzy cousin Mildred is a bit of a hoot.

As is usually the case, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment. It could've used a bit more Miss Silver, but the engaging main couple made up for her absence.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dame Agatha Christie and Her Peers
1950 - I'm sure at the time, just five years out of WW2, this story played heavily on our horrors (and still does) but read as a more original story than today.
CAST - 4 stars: William Smith awakes in a German concentration camp on Christmas Day, 1944. He can remember nothing. Later in time, Brett Eversley, trim and handsome at 40 y/o, receives a marriage rejection letter from Katharine Eversley, who has just been hired at "Tattlecomb's Toy Bazaar", which features stunning carved animals by William Smith. Mr. Abel Tattlecomb is at home and ill: he is the owner of the toy shop. Abel dies and leaves shop and his money to William (his past still a blank) who is by now 29 years old and recovering from his ordeal in the camp. A relatively small cast is interesting, just a dozen or so players. Sayer's "Gaudy Night" had 60+...and NOTHING happened!
ATMOSPHERE - 3: It's so strange that the author keeps us removed from the horrors of Germany, 1944, but probably for good reason. This is a romance at heart, and thus we get lines like "...the church...was full of her love and William's...", not that a mystery/romance is a bad thing, I'll take a gothrom about any day of the week. Add a murder, maybe a lost I.D, and I'm gone for the day.
CRIME - 3: Who is William? Why does it seem someone, somewhere, wants him dead? Is it Nazi Secrets? Is it Nazi Secrets buried in carved animals? Or is it Nazi Secrets, buried in carved animals, then sold and distributed to even worse people than the Nazis? Or does the entire book have nothing to do, really with Nazis and carved animals. This is a book on a quest for a crime. Robert Ludlum, in my opinion, set the standard for the "who am I and why am I in the ocean and where are my swimshorts and yes it's true about the shrinkage" genre in the brilliant "Bourne Identity." This novel is of less intensity and more romancity, certainly. The element of international spyacity is actually Okay, better than Christie could ever do it. But. But. wait... the...
INVESTIGATION - 2: is mostly about heartstrings and lights going off just when things are getting H-0-T! I kept thinking of Lady Gaga's brilliant "Speechless" song/video and all the love...and then all the slashed throats and Tarantino-spurts-red when people mess with Gaga and her love: a man in lipstick and silks. Lovely. Lesson: don't mess with TRUE LOVE. Ever. And that's the issue here: this is an oft-told tail....tell....tale...steamy story AFTER the chapters end.
RESOLUTION - ONE SMALL STAR: No. No. No. If you love someone you don't treat them like ****. I didn't believe the end for a second, which means I didn't believe the entire projectory of the storicity, thus Tarantino should have saved his spewicity for "Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon Part 2". Brad and Leo most welcome. Along with Elton's "Dirty Girls".
SUMMARY - This coulda been a hot, steamy S-E-X story...and sorta is. But it's sorta mean also. 2.4 is my overall rating! No surprise that Wentworth, after all is said and done, isn't much of an international spy thriller writer either...in fact...Christie is better, Wentworth is about as derivative of Christie's weakest novels as is Marsh, Sayers, Rendell, and a whole lot more. I feel a sudden desire for a Christie Tommy and Tuppence...and that's not a good sign.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly I didn’t enjoy it as much the second time around. Still a good read but the bottom of my Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver books.

[John Frankham · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Miss Silver crime novels. A toy-making ex-WWII with no memory of his identity falls for the woman who takes a job in the workshop. Who is he? Who is she? Why are lives at risk? You need Sgt Abbott and Miss Maud Silver to answer that.

Some really good twists, some forebodings are realised, others not. But which? Good understanding of character, people you care about. 'Good' villains. Solution neatly deduced from information winkled out.

Great stuff!

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Miss Silver’s gallery of photographs, and Miss Silver herself in a utility silk purchased in the last year of the war and worn one year for Sundays, a second for every day and now come down to evening wear with the addition of a black velvet coatee—a most comfortable and treasured garment, so time-honoured as to verge upon the legendary.”

This excerpt tells much of the story of my comfort in the middle of sleepless nights and my overworked thinking during this world health crisis from these quaint novels. The culprits are always caught, the young couple-in-love aways finds joy, and Miss Silver knits away in righteous support of babies and family members everywhere through it all. Her beaded shoes, her slight (corrective) cough when someone over-generalizes or deducts astray all keep the reader in no fear that justice will eventually be done (although sometimes a gaggle of people have to die along the way, of course—but only a few are truly innocent).

Next is Eternity Ring—an unhappy married couple, a mysterious death in “Dead Man’s Wood”—I sense another satisfying read afoot. >^..^<

[Meep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, one of the first Miss Silver books I read. She's a late entry, knitting almost complete before we see her. Less discretionary coughs.

It's more romance than mystery. You can practically see the floating hearts about their heads. The mystery is less exciting; a bundle of coincidence and grasping people.


The post war setting avoids discussion of hardships.

William is quite a simple man though he turns out to be a capable take charge buisness type.

But I do love the outrage! - 'they sat all day painting with merely a table between them, and if they should have dipped their brushes in the same pot, well I couldn't say'

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the Miss Silver series. These can be stand alone stories or can be read in order. Either way, the cozy mystery fan is in for a treat with Miss Marple's peer. I highly recommend this book and this series.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

One of the best Miss Silver mysteries! The plot has several twists and though convoluted is never confused. My only complaint is that Miss Silver herself is in it so little.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you lost your memory, would you want it back?

Most of us would answer in the affirmative, but what if remembering your past isn't in your best interests? What if your brain resists remembering because of some tragedy or searing scandal in your previous life? What if ignorance really is bliss?

At the end of WWII, a young man is released from a German prison camp. He carries the identification of "William Smith." But when he locates people who knew the real William Smith, they laugh at the idea that this obviously well-educated gentleman could be the barely literate Cockney lad they knew. In the chaos of war, he has been misidentified.

It doesn't do much good to know who you aren't, if you don't know who you are. The young man must make a life for himself. He knows only one thing - that he is artistic and has a talent for creating unusual and appealing wooden toy animals. He honed this skill at the prison camp, working with another young POW who grew up in the toy business.

Sadly, Ernie died while a prisoner. William Smith contacts the elderly grandfather who raised the boy to give him the comfort of talking about his beloved grandson. It ends with Smith becoming an employee of Tattlecombe's Toy Bazaar and producing a line of fantastic toy animals that sell like the proverbial hot cakes.

Patricia Wentworth's mysteries have received little critical appreciation. I think she's underrated, not least because she was an unusually broad minded woman for her time. Abel Tattlecombe and his sister Abby Salt are "chapel." In these secular times, it's hard to comprehend the contempt in which chapel members (meaning Methodists and any church except the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church) were held. Most authors painted them as buffoons - stupid, narrow-minded, and knowing nothing except the absurdities taught by their poorly-educated preachers.

To her glory, Wentworth shows Abel and Abby as real people and very admirable ones, too. They're NOT sophisticated, but both are shrewd, generous, and open-minded. Abel is crushed by the loss of his grandson and heir, but he bravely goes on, aware of his responsibility to others. Abby's husband left her well-provided for, but the marriage brought a burden in the form of his crazy sister. Abby doesn't like having the woman live with her, but accepts it to honor the memory of her kind husband. Many people accept hardships grudgingly, but the brother and sister shoulder their burdens cheerfully. Neither is "preachy" but they live their faith in a positive way.

William Smith appreciates his luck in falling in with such good-hearted people and he's proud of his popular creations. When a beautiful young woman joins the company, they fall in love and the future looks bright. Except for one thing - it appears that someone is trying to kill William Smith. When old Mr Tattlecombe falls in front of a car and is injured, his claims to have been pushed are largely ignored. But the "accidents" keep happening.

Miss Silver gets involved when her "protegy" Detective-Sergeant Frank Abbott of London's Metropolitan CID is witness to an attack on William Smith. He can't prove that it wasn't a simple street crime, but his copper's intuition tells him there's more to the story. He urges Mr and Mrs Smith to see Miss Silver and seek her help. William Smith thinks it's unnecessary, but Katharine Eversley Smith sees the danger and calls on Miss Silver for help. Far better than her husband, Katharine understands the complications and knows WHY some people may want him "removed."

I've enjoyed all the books in this series and I think this is one of the best. The author does a fine job of contrasting the hard-working, honest Tattlecombe family to Katharine's relatives. Her cousins have inherited a prosperous business, but now it's floundering. The active partner is inept, correctly doubting his own abilities and dominated by his attractive, pushy private secretary. His cousin is smarter, but a playboy who wants nothing to do with the firm except to collect his share of the profits. Typically, the female cousin who is one-third owner is kept in the dark. All she knows is that her quarterly dividends won't be paid. What happened to this formerly prosperous firm?

I love old mysteries because the best ones are a faithful look at the world that existed when they were written. Patricia Wentworth wasn't a brilliant writer, but she was a shrewd observer and her characters are totally believable. And if there's ever been a more fascinating detective than Miss Maude Silver, I'm missing something.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* Grey Mask (Miss Silver, #1)
4* The Case Is Closed (Miss Silver, #2)
3* The Case of William Smith (Miss Silver, #13)
2* The Ivory Dagger (Miss Silver, #19)
4* Out of the Past (Miss Silver, #23)
3* The Benevent Treasure (Miss Silver, #26)
2* A Marriage Under the Terror
2* Beggar's Choice
4* The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith: A Golden Age Mystery
TR Lonesome Road (Miss Silver, #3)
TR Danger Point (Miss Silver, #4)
TR The Chinese Shawl (Miss Silver, #5)
TR Miss Silver Deals With Death (Miss Silver, #6)
TR The Clock Strikes Twelve (Miss Silver, #7)
TR The Key (Miss Silver, #8)
TR She Came Back (Miss Silver, #9)
TR Pilgrim's Rest (Miss Silver, #10)
TR Latter End (Miss Silver, #11)
TR Wicked Uncle (Miss Silver, #12)
TR Eternity Ring (Miss Silver, #14)
TR Miss Silver Comes to Stay (Miss Silver, #15)
TR The Catherine Wheel (Miss Silver, #16)
TR The Brading Collection (Miss Silver, #17)
TR Poison in the Pen (Miss Silver, #29)
TR Devil's Wind
TR The Fire Within
TR The Black Cabinet
TR Danger Calling
TR Run!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the Wentworth books I have read.
I am a sucker for cool love stories and this is a cool love story.
Not a bad mystery either, although the deal of a guy with amnesia is a bit well-worn.
However this has LOVELY villains. Who can resist?
And Miss Silver beats Miss Marple by several miles...IMHO

[Andrea]

When Wentworth is revealing that one of her Evil Women is Evil, at least half of the time it's by having their genteel accent slip to reveal the commoner within.

Otherwise, this is a nice, satisfying tale of a man with a missing memory, and a whole series of accidents.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent plot - one of the best miss silver's enquiries I read up to now

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practically perfect cozy. I love the way the mystery focuses on the characters with Miss Silver as a delightful background character.

[ShanDizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery was a smashing success! Miss Silver is a unique jewel. It was absorbing and simply interesting. I over 85% of it in one day! This series now competes with the Inspector Littlejohn mysteries as my current binge-reading addiction.

She has a keen insight into human nature. I had been trying to think where this series of crimes and attempted crimes could really be said to have begun. In nearly every case one finds that the seed of a crime has been present in thought for a long time before it germinates and passes into action. There are, perhaps, years during which selfish, ruthless, ambitious, and despotic tendencies could, and should, be checked and eliminated.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story and I raced through it in one evening. Five stars worth of entertainment, but I took off a star for too many coincidences..

William Smith woke up in a German hospital during WWII with no memory of his previous life. He spent the rest of the war in a concentration camp, where he learned to carve wood from a fellow prisoner.

Years later he is working in a toy shop, carving and selling fantastical creations. A young woman walks into the shop, looking for a job, and just like that, William Smith is in love.

The characters in this story are more interesting than in the last few Silver books. No moist young ladies wilting around needing rescue. No dithery old ladies being worked to death and under appreciated. The old lady here is stalwart, the old man is doughty, Katherine and William are normal, and the villains are creepy.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the fact that amnesia doesn't really work like that, this was great fun to read. If you can accept certain things in the plot working that way because Wentworth needs them to, then you'll enjoy this. Miss Silver plays a pretty minor role here, really; she's more a quiet and rational background presence than an active intervener.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another smashing listen, must dash I'm off to listen to book 14 now.

[Arlo White · Rating 3 out of 5]

rather enjoyable sweetie couple of the year. classic mystery fun laid in the sun all day reading it!

[Franziska Self Fisken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I regard Patricia Wentworths as comforting, hot-water-bottle books: a blend of a clever crime story with more than a little dash of romance too. Miss Silver is a retired, old-fashioned, governess-turned- enquiry agent and her skillset matches those of Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple.
I found this storyline rather improbable.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful entry in the Miss Silver series. Most of the titles start with the family/town/group being introduced. Nice people stand out, the less likeable ones also stand out, and then the murder happens, at which point somehow Miss Silver gets introduced into the setting and by her wonderfully gentle, intelligent, always-knitting-for-her-nieces-and-nephews-self as she works with Scotland Yard (one member of whom she is on very good terms with) to ferret out the murderer. And I love the time period of the novels, the predictability of the interesting stories being told, the little romances that usually crop up, the resolution of all threads, and the variety of settings Wentworth uses--each title has something unique about it.

This one starts with a man who has lost all memory pre-1942, when he finds himself in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. But the war ends and William Smith, as he has been named for someone else who died in the camp, comes back to England only knowing he can make animal toys from wood. He gets a job in a toy shop where he meets and hires a young woman who has come looking for a job. Most everyone in this environment is nice, and the first half of the book has a dream-like, fantasy feel to it--magical almost. Or so it seemed to me.

Thirteen titles into the series...and a totally innovative feel to this.

[Sep · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Miss Silver book ever!!!

William returns to England after World War II without any memory before 1942. He eventually gets hired at Tattlecombe's Toy Bazaar. He has created some charming wooden animals. He is likable and his creations are successful. His boss begins to consider William a stand-in for his late grandson. Then one day Katharine Eversley walks into the store looking for a job. After one look, William (left temporarily in charge) is smitten and hires her. Then, attempts on William's life begin.

Who would want to murder William? Mr. Tattlecombe's family seems OK with his "adoption" or are they? No one else really knows him or do they?

Reading Miss Wentworth's books over seventy years after they were written it is interesting to see the class system sneak in just a little. William's accent is described by cockneys as "posh". Another character is viewed as a person who "could have done better" than marrying the person she did. The daughter of the boss says to his secretary "who gave you the right to call that person by their first name"?

These are merely of historical interest and in no way detract from the story.

[F.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the 20th century English queens of crime fiction, Dorothy L. Sayers is frequently held out as – stylistically – the best writer. I don’t necessarily agree, believing that she gets that praise just because she’s better than Christie (although Christie’s novels have their merits). However, on the evidence of this Patricia Wentworth book I’d say she tops both of her more famous counterparts.

Her character is Miss Silver, a very Miss Marple-esque figure (these two spinsters actually first appeared within months of each other. There must have been a lot of very nosey little old ladies back then.) Set in London, this case involves Mr Smith, who has no recollection of his life before the second world war and now finds that people are trying to murder him.

The book loses a star for the denouement being ludicrous (which I can forgive) and far too easy to guess (which I can’t). Matters aren’t helped by the back of this particular edition, which gives away more than it should. This is a jolly read though, and well worth a look if you’re a fan of classic English crime fiction.

[T. Godeon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Returned to Miss Silver after giving up on her many years ago. But this title got lots of solid reviews on Goodreads, so I thought maybe I had been too quick to dismiss Patricia Wentworth as an also-ran in the mystery and detection field. Sorry to say she still doesn't catch my fancy.

The Case of William Smith has an 'Enoch Arden' theme very similar to that of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel, Taken at the Flood (both books were published in 1948).

On the plus side, Wentworth's prose is fluid and very readable. Unfortunately, though, her plotting is uninspired, and her characters (including Miss Silver) are rather ho-hum. She has her fans, though, so by all means give her a try. Maybe I'm just too fussy.

[Gillian Wiseman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Miss Silver mystery I have read in a number of years, and somehow it really didn't live up to my memories of previous ones. I guessed who the bad guy was quite early, and also what the "twist" was as well (which was really pretty obvious), but I did enjoy the setting and renewing my acquaintance with Miss Silver and the detectives. It was simply not a very exciting or innovative story in any way. I will continue to seek out new-to-me novels in the series, but it isn't at the top of my recommendation list.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may have been my favorite Miss Silver so far. It is an intricate, layered mystery revealed cleverly piece by piece without any secret information kept back from the reader and no special dramatic last minute appearance or confession needed to solve it tidily, problems I have encountered in other Miss Silver books. Of course I have always been oddly intrigued by stories involving amnesia so I was predisposed to like this one. And there is a lovely sweet romance as usual. Good stuff!