Whispers on the water - Audrey Howard

Tomboy Grace Tooley meets Rupert Bradley when her eldest brother's sudden death forces her to take on burdens beyond her years.
From then on, Grace gives her heart to her brother's wealthy friend, but he sees her as a mere girl and marries a woman from his own station in life.

They meet again when the Great War has changed them both.
Grace has suffered loss and pain and emerged as a strong, passionate woman.
Rupert, nearly broken by the horrors he has endured, has been humiliated by the bride who once seemed so right for him, and he rejects Grace's love and any hope of future happiness.
But Grace is determined to rediscover the spirit of the only boy she ever loved in the man who is ready to die.