Helena's Choice

***This book is in English***

Helena Cadfield returns to Oxford in the summer of 1837 after being away three years at a Parisian boarding school . She looks forward to seeing her father, Dr. Cadfield, as well as Allan Murphy, a young man whom she has had a crush on all these years. A letter from her father awaits her, apologizing for not being there to greet her. He explains that while in Greece, he excavated the foundation of her Greek mother's family property in Nemea, with the intentions of rebuilding the war-damaged mansion, and discovered ancient treasures in the process. He asks that she join him in retrieving the treasures. Her joy in going to Greece is cut short, for at the bottom of the letter is a note from the local Greek priest, informing her that he found her father dead with the letter in his arms. He sent the letter after burying her father. Allan Murphy, a physician, shows up at Cadfield House to give his condolences for her deceased father. He treats Helena not as the tomboy she used to be, but as a beautiful young lady that she has become. He is interested in courting her. Helena is happy with Allan's attentions, but is caught in a dilemma, for she must see about the property in Greece. Cadfield House now belongs to her father's cousin, Mr. Weldon, the next heir. She is penniless, for her father did not leave a will. Determined to become financially independent, Helena takes a position as a governess in hopes of earning enough money to travel to Greece. Her charge is a strong-headed girl who does not want a governess. Helena asks Allan to wait for her, but will he wait?When she arrives in war-torn Greece as a governess, where King Otto of Bavaria rules, she encounters Dr. Aristotle Mastoras, an archaeologist. The archaeological society in Athens has hired him to excavate on her Greek property. They join forces in finding the treasures on her property. Working alongside the Albanian laborers and Aristotle, Helena finds peace. Yet she must battle the dark forces that threaten to take everything away from her. She hires her bandit cousins, musket-yielding mountain men, to guard the place. In addition, the burgeoning love she feels for Aristotle threatens to topple all her carefully laid out plans with Allan.

By Patty Apostolides. 331 pages. Paperback. Independently published.

ISBN: 9781520265384