Gentle Lover — Beth Gorman

The Allen sisters, Betsy and Letitia, both had beauty and wealth. But they couldn't both have Francis Le Sage, the handsome young man from the wrong side of their small New England town. For the first time, Betsy and Lettie feel jealousy and hate tearing them apart, as Francis falls in love with one of them and -- in a moment of weakness -- settles for the other! A host of finger-pointing small-town gossips, Lettie's ex-husband, an unscrupulous New York attorney, and John Barradine, the one-legged local lawyer, add to the suspense, thrills, and romantic surprises. When Francis finally declares his true love, ruin threatens nearly all concerned.

Francis LeSage was born and raised in poor-town, his widowed father then town drunkard. When he fell in love with Betsy Allen his chances of winning her were very slight. But when Betsy's elder sister, Lettie, divorced from her husband, returned to Thames to live with Betsy, Francis, seeking the younger girl, became embroiled with the elder.

Francis declared his love for Betsy but Lettie raged and attempted to ruin him, Betsy, and even her ex-husband, Henry Rykoff. In their small New England town gossip was a fact of life. Even the one-legged town barrister, John Barradine, heard enough to try and take a hand.

Francis LeSage won through by love and constancy, and not only he and Betsy, but Lettie as well, were able to face a future of happiness.