Lily of the Tower — Elizabeth Hart

The country house has a secret...

Washed up by a storm at the gates of the local estate, young Agnes Headey has a first impression of brooding silence and faded elegance. When she learns that Master Netherfield's sister is not dead, as all had presumed, she undertakes secret visits to the gentle but troubled woman. Soon Agnes would rather travel the miles between home and Netherfield than countenance the suit by the ardent James Thornton.

Lily Netherfield accepts her imprisonment, for her own good. Her sickness has caused enough grief and loss in her family. Just as she hopes perhaps she has grown out of her illness, the sound of light laughter, a kind word and a sweet smile brings it all back, and this time Lily does not want to be cured.

With social convention pressuring Agnes to marry for the security of her own future, only unwanted journeys lie ahead, and none of the roads lead to where her heart has finally found a home.

In this richly detailed story of Victorian and Regency England, debut author Elizabeth Hart asks the tantalizing question: What if Jane Eyre had lost her heart not to Rochester, but to the woman in the tower?