Like a Diamond — Malcolm MacDonald

It is 1910 and young Peter de Vivian, arriving at his new family home in Falmouth, is instantly smitten by Gemma Penhallow, a senior housemaid. But Gemma has more reasons than most to keep her distance. In a long campaign to win her heart, Peter underestimates his family's opposition and Gemma's stubbornness.

Young Peter de Vivian is so instantly smitten with the grace and beauty of Gemma Penhallow, the new housemaid of his family's Cornwall home, that he forgets himself and does an unspeakably shocking thing -- he shakes her hand! Despite the starchy rules of society, the young lovers manage to make a happy future together. But the older generation still has a trick or two up their sleeves which could change the course of both Gemma and Peter's lives.