Published: Sep. 22, 2011
Words: 83,503 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9780983030560

Short description

"Wounded war hero" Hamilton Jessup married celebrity singer Maeve Collinswood without realizing her marriage of convenience proposal would plunge him into a personal and patriotic crisis. Texas faced war with Mexico. A mysterious "Endgame Scenario" set Ham to puzzling Texas' future. Maeve drew him into a passionate alliance, a deadly confrontation, and a reliance on God he had never imagined.

Extended description

Vienta by Mary C. Findley
Hamilton Jessup appears to live a quiet life as a government clerk. Recollections of his days as a soldier in Texas' historic battles against Santa Ana only mar his peace a little. Celebrating a birthday with an old friend and resisting one more effort by Dan Costain to persuade him to read the Bible hardly disturb his ordinary life. But an invitation to a dinner party at the palatial home of celebrity singer Maeve Collinswood changes everything. Ham enters into a sham marriage arrangement and Maeve pays his mysterious debts.
In return she demands that he give her respectability and ignore her frequent disappearances and the inescapable conclusion that she is doing something dangerous and needs help. But Ham has secrets of his own, including the loss of his best friend and the puzzle of Mexico's "endgame scenario " that he must solve or risk the loss of everything he loves. Ham's growing love for Maeve and his discovery that their secrets are connected in i.. (Read more) Vienta by Mary C. Findley
Hamilton Jessup appears to live a quiet life as a government clerk. Recollections of his days as a soldier in Texas' historic battles against Santa Ana only mar his peace a little. Celebrating a birthday with an old friend and resisting one more effort by Dan Costain to persuade him to read the Bible hardly disturb his ordinary life. But an invitation to a dinner party at the palatial home of celebrity singer Maeve Collinswood changes everything. Ham enters into a sham marriage arrangement and Maeve pays his mysterious debts.
In return she demands that he give her respectability and ignore her frequent disappearances and the inescapable conclusion that she is doing something dangerous and needs help. But Ham has secrets of his own, including the loss of his best friend and the puzzle of Mexico's "endgame scenario " that he must solve or risk the loss of everything he loves. Ham's growing love for Maeve and his discovery that their secrets are connected in incredible ways plunges both of them into a race to outwit Mexican General Ampudio's ruthless Lieutenant Chaco and stop the supply of arms to Mexico's fight against the freedom of Texas.

from Part One, between June, 1844 and March, 1845
"I wanted to lay your concerns to rest, ma'am," Ham drawled. "It was kind of you to call Doctor Evans, and I apologize for being generally impossible to live with. "
Maeve looked at him in astonishment. "Doctor Evans said you were feverish, and you seemed to be in pain. Hamilton, what happened last night?"
"Last night, ma'am?" Ham seemed to be thinking hard. "Would you believe me if I told you Nat Grover drugged our punch and hired someone to try to kill us?"
"What?" Maeve stood up. "How can you stand there and speak such a lot of nonsense? Why do you hate Mr. Grover so much? What has he done to you?"
Ham took a deep breath. "Well then," he said in a low voice,"Since that's how you respond, you got a bit faint and I got a bit thirsty and I sent you home and went out and wet my whistle. "
Maeve appeared to be studying him. "You were drunk, and suffered from a hangover," Maeve summarized finally.
"In essence, that is what must have occurred," Ham replied. "Since Mr. Grover is sacrosanct from my unprovable accusations. "
"Hamilton?" Maeve said suddenly.
"Yes, ma'am?" Ham asked.
"The story you told about Goliad," Maeve said, looking pained,"Was it some sort of alcoholic raving or did you tell a true tale?"
Ham looked away. "A true tale, ma'am," he said. "I could never be intoxicated enough to show so much disrespect to the memory of that event as to fabricate a tale about it. "
"Thank you," Maeve said.
(Less)

Tags

romance, suspense, espionage, christian, southwest, arranged marriage, marital conflict, diary entries

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Vienta
Short excerpt read by the author with images.

Reviews

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Review by: Collette Scott on Jan. 14, 2012 :
Taking a closer view of a much overlooked part of American history, Ms. Findley has woven a story of history, hope, salvation and love with so much suspense and tension that you can’t wait to turn each page to find out what happens next. It begins with a false marriage, a marriage of convenience between two people, one a beautiful singer and the other a drunkard. However, both carry deep secrets and neither is who they appear to be. As the two carry about their mysterious work, tensions with Mexico are rising, and it falls our lead characters to find love, find God and triumph over the evil antagonist, Chaco.

Ms. Findley provided a very well-written book with the right amount of history to keep you intrigued. Her characters were well-developed, and I was particularly taken with Ham. As a wounded warrior, he was charming, humble and very loyal and dedicated despite his injuries. I liked that he did not let them wear him down. Maeve was so mysteriously beautiful but wrapped up in activities I could not help but dislike, and I was counting on Ham to rescue her the whole way through. As they both redeemed themselves, I gave a cheer for a happily ever after. With the help of the devout Duvall family, these sins are forgiven, and they manage to triumph over their past to look forward to a wholesome future together. Despite all the difficulties, there is hope. A very nice, fast-paced, informative and touching read that I truly enjoyed.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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