🐶 Upon his death, Millie Maitland's husband left her almost nothing besides their house, Fernieknowe, and their only daughter Amabel. So bleak their condition were, that Millie's lawyer, Mr. Ramsay, proposed Millie to marry him. She wisely rejected it, and made a living as a dog boarder, or in modern day, household dog care facility - a rare occupation, let alone of women, at that time.
🐶 She's saved by an inheritance from her husband's great aunt, though it was given to Amabel. But Millie is a kindhearted, generous woman who doesn't grudge the slight injustice, but lives peacefully on her meagre income from her dogs, and the company of the acerbic and sharp-tongued daughter Amabel.
🐶 Now, in her middle age, two middle-aged men entered her peaceful existence. One is Mr. Martin Heriot, who, besides enjoying her company and homely cooking, asked Millie to take Sam, a black Labrador belongs to his 'cousin'. Millie suspects that Martin's frequent visits to Fernieknowe aren't just to see Sam's condition - it must be that he's in love with Amabel - or is he? The other frequented is Mr. Ramsay, the lawyer. Amabel suspects he's renewing his proposal to her mother, which she witnessed years ago - but is he?
🐶 That kind of romance is good, but would be rather dull without complications, isn't it? Enter the beautiful Mrs. Noble, whose husband has been abroad, and for whom men usually lose their heads. Martin Heriot seemed to be her first 'victim', though later on she moved her course to newly married Jack Ross. The Rosses are Millie's friends, and she's fond of them. So, when things seemed out of control, she came to the rescue.
🐶 On the whole, it's a charming, comforting, heartwarming story - the quality you expect from Molly Clavering. She did it again to me, and I'm sure I'll continue reading her books, at least for #DeanStreetDesember. Molly Clavering was D.E. Stevenson's friend and neighbor. They have similar writing styles, but I find Molly's more gentle but satisfying. She's my newly found favorite author of the year!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
Read this for:
Dean Street December #DeanStreetDecember
I have this next TBR so not looking too carefully at your review - though I have added it to the list of course. Thank you for contributing so many reads and reviews to the challenge!
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