A Raven's Heart — Anita Stansfield

Stella Hollingberry boldly shatters every feasible hope for her own personal security when she refuses what society considers a perfect proposal of marriage. With little to her name and no practical means of supporting herself, she is left with the fear of ending up on the streets -- along with her beloved friend and lifelong companion Patsy, for whom she feels responsible.

A strange twist in the will of a distant relative leaves Stella unexpectedly in ownership of a faraway manor house, Ravensdale. Stella and Patsy arrive to find the house in dreadful condition, with only a few struggling servants there who are relying on their work at the manor for their own survival. Determined to make a suitable life for herself and all those who are depending on her, Stella rolls up her sleeves and digs in, putting her every effort into saving Ravensdale and making it a proper home.

Stella finds an unexpected ally in the mysterious stable hand, Harland Leatherby. From him she learns the legend of Ravensdale, that only a person with the heart of a raven is worthy of being a steward of the manor. As Stella gradually comes to learn what that means, secrets unfold concerning the house she inherited, and the man who diligently works by her side to save it from a threat she never could have imagined.