Beauty Among Ruins (Paperback)

1914. American socialite Lily Durham excels at enjoying herself, with little regard for the consequences of her youthful fun. But just after parents banish her overseas to England as a "cure" for her frivolous ways, the Great War breaks out and wreaks havoc. She joins her cousin in nursing wounded soldiers at a convalescent home deep in the wilds of Scotland, at a stately but crumbling castle whose laird is more prickly than pleasant. Alec MacGregor has given his entire life to preserving Kinclavoch Castle, but mounting debts force him to sell off his family home and history bit by bit. Unable to fight in the trenches due to old injuries, and ever feeling the judgment of others, he opens his home to the injured Tommies as recompense. Alec, dark and brooding, is one who keeps to himself--but when a nurse named Lily comes streaming into the castle on a burst of light, he cannot help but step out of the shadows. Lily and Alec are thrown together when a series of mysterious events threaten to ruin the future of Kinclavoch once and for all. Though they are different as night and day, can they put aside their differences to find the culprit before it's too late? Or will their greatest distraction be falling in love?