Introduction

Praise for Julie Klassen

"A remarkable tale with many unpredictable twists and turns."--CBA Retailers Resources

"A treat for [readers] who want their historical romances served up with a generous dash of mystery."--Booklist

"[Klassen's] work appeals to all who seek a riveting Regency romance."--RT Book Reviews

Abigail Foster is the practical daughter. She fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry, and the one man she thought might marry her seems to have fallen for her younger, prettier sister.

Facing financial ruin, Abigail and her father search for more affordable lodgings, until a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll's house left mid-play...

The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his family seem acquainted with the manor's past, the only information they offer is a stern warning: Beware trespassers drawn by rumors that Pembrooke Park contains a secret room filled with treasure.

This catches Abigail's attention. Hoping to restore her family's finances--and her dowry--Abigail looks for this supposed treasure. But eerie sounds at night and footprints in the dust reveal she isn't the only one secretly searching the house.

Then Abigail begins receiving anonymous letters, containing clues about the hidden room and startling discoveries about the past.

As old friends and new foes come calling at Pembrooke Park, secrets come to light. Will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?

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Discussion Questions

1. What secrets in the book did you figure out early on? Anything you guessed wrong? What happening or plot twist took you most by surprise?

2. Did your first impression of any character turn out to be wrong? Have you had a similar experience in real life (realizing your first impression of someone—good or bad—was not at all accurate)?

3. When Abigail, and later William, saw the figure in the hooded green cloak, who do you think it was? The same person who wore it in the climactic scene, or someone else?

4. Did you ever think you were meant to marry one person, only to discover in hindsight he wasn’t the person God intended for you after all? What would you tell a young person pining for someone who doesn’t return his or her affections?

5. Did you grow up feeling like a favored child, or an overlooked child, or did your parents make a point of treating their offspring equally? What is your view of Mr. and Mrs. Foster’s parenting style in this regard? What would you say to someone who feels he or she is living in a sibling’s shadow?

6. Do you think Abigail chose the right man? Did you vacillate or feel torn about which man she should end up with?

7. Did you feel any sympathy for Miles? Like him at all? Wish the author had given him a different ending—or do you think he got the ending he deserved?

8. What about Harriet? What did you think about her desire to make restitution for the wrongdoings of her father? What is your view of the verse: “The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18)?

9. Abigail is tempted to believe she needs a large dowry—a treasure—to make herself valuable, and worthy of a man’s love. Have you ever struggled with a similar feeling of insecurity? In the end, Abigail learns “. . . she had never needed a treasure to make herself worthy. How thankful she was to be treasured by God, and the man who loved her.” Can you relate?

10. Do you agree or disagree with this concluding line? “Ah, the weary wonder of this life. Of faith. And family. And friends. The truest treasures we can ever know or possess.” Is there anything you would omit or add?

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