❝𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐦𝐬❞

The Rose of Yorkshire

In the small village of Whistlewood, nestled amidst the rolling moors of Yorkshire, seventeen-year-old Clara Greaves was known for her beauty and her quiet determination. She had grown up in a family of modest means—her father a blacksmith, her mother a seamstress—but hard times had fallen on the Greaves family. A harsh winter had claimed much of their livestock, and debts to the local landlord loomed over them like a dark cloud.

Clara had tried to help in every way she could. She took on mending work, worked the fields alongside her brothers, and even sold the few trinkets her mother had passed down to her. But it was never enough. The landlord's agent came knocking one bitter spring morning, demanding payment. The Greaves family was on the verge of losing their home.

It was then that fate, or misfortune, intervened in the form of Lord Arthur Fairleigh, Baron of Windmere. He had come to Whistlewood to survey his estates, a rare visit from the reclusive nobleman. Arthur was a man of great wealth and influence, but age had worn him down; his once-dark hair was now silver, and his sharp features carried the weight of decades.

When his carriage broke down near the village square, Clara had been one of the villagers who stopped to assist. She had no idea that her kindness—and her striking beauty—had made an impression on the Baron.

A week later, a letter arrived at the Greaves' cottage. It bore the seal of the Baron himself, offering to settle all of the family's debts in exchange for Clara entering his service. The wording was careful, almost poetic, but its meaning was clear: the Baron desired her as his courtesan.

Clara's parents were horrified, but the desperation in their eyes told her all she needed to know. They couldn't refuse. Clara, with her head held high, made the decision herself. She would do it—not for ambition or vanity, but to save her family.