Only By Chance - 1996

Orphan girl works at a stately home...rich doctor falls in love, blah, blah, blah. Sounds like The Chain of Destiny, right? Nope, it's Only By Chance.

Henrietta Cowper (at least 23 years old) has got to be the orphan-iest orphan ever to grace the pages of the Canon. Her parents died in an air disaster when she was about one - which is what you get when you board a plane with a  RDD's wife who is running away with a South American playboy.  She lived with unloving grandparents until her grandmother died when Henrietta was six - grandfather then sent her to a 'Children's Home'.  She stayed until she was twenty-one and a new regime kicked her out. As the story opens, she's been living in a cold little attic bedsit for at least a couple of years.  She keeps body and soul together by working two part-time jobs and as many little side jobs as she can find.  The first post-orphanage job she landed was a plum, ripe for the picking - early morning office cleaner Editor's note: this job is eerily similar to my college days jobs - early morning cleaning the lower floor of the law library.  More recently she's picked up a second job as a part-time helper in the Occupational Therapy department.  Sure, the job is more upscale - but her supervisor, Mrs. Carter has it in for her. She has an unreasonable dislike of Henrietta - despite her being a cheerful and willing worker.

Coming out of the hospital one dark and rainy evening Henrietta finds a waterlogged kitten and steps back onto someone's foot. Best misstep ever. She has a lovely voice, he has an interesting voice...no names are exchanged, but they recognize each other instantly just days later...not when they see each other, no, when they hear each other. He's taking a tour of OT with Mrs. Carter...who is busy being her naturally vile self and tearing down Henrietta as much as possible.  The stranger with the nice voice defends Henrietta quite ably. In fact, he is so nice, he waits outside to apologize!  They exchange names...she's Henrietta Cowper, he's Mr. Ross-Pitt.
Henrietta disappears!  She misses a couple of days in OT - which doesn't surprise the abrasive Mrs. Carter...it's what she's come to expect of Young Women. She's not the least bit curious about where Henrietta might be. Mr. R-P wonders if she might be ill.

The lives of Henrietta and Mr. Ross-Pitt ever so gradually begin to intertwine.  Henrietta's landlady, Mrs. Gregg, brings Henrietta to the clinic where Mr. R-P does evening volunteer work on the QT. Her landlady is that special breed of woman who is both 'heart-of-gold' and avaricious.  Generally her heart-of-gold-iness wins out...Mrs. Gregg is willing to do all the necessary - she's happy to take care of Henrietta back at her bedsit - especially when a bit of the ready is slipped in her open hand. Mr. R-P is rather appalled at Henrietta's living conditions.  She seems so much better than that. Mr. R-P (and just about everyone else) can tell she's not living in her proper sphere -in spite of the fact that she's quite plain - it must be her beautiful eyes and posh accent she picked up in the orphanage. Maybe that's why he pops into visit her with a bunch of daffodils?  Against doctor's advice, Henrietta goes back to work at her early morning job and naturally gets sicker. Who should be driving by? Yup, it's Mr. Ross-Pitt. He sums up the situation and pops her into hospital quick as you like. There are consequences to his helpfulness.

1. Looses her job in OT.
2. Looses her job cleaning offices.

3. Looses her bedsit.

The only reason she hasn't lost her cats, is that Mr. Ross-Pitt took them to his home while she was in hospital.  What's an orphan to do?  Mr. R-P hears of a likely job at his neighbor's stately home - food and lodging included.  Sounds ideal.  Did I mention it's close to his home? Yes? Well. Well, well, well.

Lady Hensen is willing to take her on as a Jill-of-all-trades...to help with cleaning, mending and tour operating.  Henrietta is perfect for the job.  Cheerful, willing, hardworking, polite and able to turn her hand to such things as mending the curtains.  The Victorian orphanage hasn't been a total wash on the subject of job training...

And now, some highlights:

• Sharing a lodge with Mrs. Pettifer. It might be a small place, but it's not a bedsit, and it's not in the dodgy East End of London.
• Her orphanage roots are showing - she confesses to the gardener that she's never seen flowers growing - just in market stalls. Really?
• Miss Deidre Stone. She would like to become Mrs. Ross-Pitt, but it'll have to be over his dead body, because he isn't biting.
• Sir Peter's nephew Mike is intrigued by the plain little thing who isn't intrigued by him.  He figures he'll have a laugh and get her to fall in love with him.  He attempts to kiss her, and gets kicked in the shins for his troubles.  Mr. Ross-Pitt breaks through a hedge to save the maiden, but the maiden has saved herself.
• After not saving Henrietta, Mr. R-P gives her a kiss on the cheek, invites her to tea at his lovely home, and earns a Dawning Realization on her part.  He doesn't know yet that he's in love - but he can't get her off his mind. And now Henrietta starts to think of him as 'Adam'. Yay!
• Deidre does not compare favorably to Henrietta.  Adam has reached the 'she would look good in a potato sack' stage as far as Henrietta is concerned.
• While queueing up for the bus, Adam urges Henrietta to come spend the day with him at his dear old nanny's place on the Essex coast.
• The coast? Poor little orphan Henrietta has never before seen the sea!!!! She's grown up on an island  and never seen the ocean.
• Adam has to head back to London because he has a courtesy date with Deidre. He's just had a wonderful day with Henrietta and the last thing he wants is to go out with the appalling Deidre.  He's grumpy from the git-go, and again Deidre does not show well. 
• her perfume reeks - unlike Henrietta
• she's a fussy eater - never having known what it is to be hungry - unlike Henrietta
• her voice gets shrill with temper - unlike Henrietta
• Meanwhile, back at the stately home, Henrietta reflects that she hates Deidre.
• The Hensens are going to the states for 2 weeks - so all the staff get a week off.  Poor orphan H. doesn't have anywhere to go...until Matty (Adam's nanny) writes to invite her down.
• Her holiday is lovely - walking by the beach each day and chatting with Matty.  Matty is like the granny she wished she had had.
• The vicar so happens to have an eldest son named David - who happens to be close in age to Henrietta.  They get on like a house afire - but you just know he's like the brother she never had. Adam doesn't know that...all that he knows is that he's annoyed by the thought of her with David.

The loveliest bits of this book, for me, are the last twenty or thirty pages. Adam is adorable as a man in love.  He sounds very puppy-ish. He feels great gusts of love - his heart lurches at the sight of her, he sets his mother's mind at rest concerning the troubling thought of him getting hitched to Deidre - nope, he's found someone else - someone who he thinks doesn't think of him in 'that way'...yet.

Henrietta spends part of a weekend with Matty again - David offers her a ride back.  Turns out David likes a sweet young thing - Henrietta advises him 'if you like it then you'd better put a ring on it' .  Adam takes an opportunity to give the best set-down ever to a presuming woman.

Adam and Henrietta are both lovesick - but neither has any clue about the other - there are murky waters...Adam is so hot and bothered that he walks over to the lodge and without even a by-your-leave kisses her. She completely enjoys the experience and admits it. But she can't figure out why a man who is as good as engaged to Deidre is kissing her.  All Adam can think is that Henrietta has thrown a spanner into his sane and assured judgements. It would be nice if things could be resolved - but first Adam calls Matty and gets the story of David cleared up...then a quick trip to America. What? Yeah, he has a spot of emergency surgery to attend to in Washington (pretty sure it's Washington as in D.C. not State) coincidentally, Deirdre is in The States.  Henrietta adds one plus one, divides by 50 states and comes up with Adam and Deidre together. Not altogether her fault, the kitchen knew he'd gone to the States; the milkman had it from Mrs. Patch, and he told Cook who told us....Addy overhead Mrs. Stone tell Lady Hensen that Miss Stone had flown to the States, too...so, really, you can't blame Henrietta for coming up with the wrong couple, can you?

Adam sorts this all out immediately so they can get down to the business of kissing, more kissing and proposing. The End.

Rating: It started a bit slow for me...not sure why. I loved, loved, loved the last 1/4 of the book - except for the very last line, wherein Henrietta makes the mistake of saying that Adam only has to tell her he loves her once. Rookie mistake.  Some of the best Hero in Love bits ever.  I liked Henrietta - even while finding her character a bit unbelievable (never seen flowers outside of market stalls? Really? Never seen the ocean? Really?).  She was pretty plucky - but a shade too unambitious for me.  Adam was the most adorably smitten man.  Boeuf en croute.

Food: Henrietta ate food of the servant quarters variety AND the retired nanny variety.  Casserole with baked apples and cream for afters, Stewed beef and dumplings with a jam roly poly for afters, treacle pudding, steak and kidney pudding, carrots from a neighbor's garden, potatoes from a local farmer, apples from the same farmer for apple pie and cream, scones and jam and a dough cake.

Fashion: Let's face it, Henrietta doesn't have much money to splash out.  When she does finally have some money she buys a navy jersey jacket and skirt, floral blouse in muted pastels and a navy and white striped blouse with a neat little bow. Her next 'spree' nets her a finely pleated somber navy blue skirt, 2 blouses, a sage-green safari dress and a simply cut uncrushable floral dress.