The seasons will pass - Audrey Howard

Clare Hanrahan has nothing left to lose the day she stumbles into the arms of Lew Earnshaw. Her family is gone, her own life hangs by a thread after a desperate season seeking work - any work - in the poverty-stricken villages of Lancashire's Penfold Valley. By the time Lew and his kindly neighbor Nelly Bradbury have nursed Clare back to health, he is hopelessly in love with the frail Irish girl. But though she will always care for Lew, another man steals her heart. Martin Heywood could not be more different from the gentle, idealistic weaver. The rich young farmer is proud, arrogant and devastatingly handsome. He sweeps Clare off her feet, inspires her to better herself, steals her heart away. What he cannot do is marry a mere servant girl. Even if it breaks both their hearts . . .