The Daffodils Soon Will Be Up

Diana McGill – The Daffodils Soon Will Be Up

This historical romance fiction novel is set in 1900 Ontario, and was inspired by true life events. It tells the story of Mary Estelle McNeill, a naive, small-town girl known as Essie to her friends and family. Faced with a tragedy, to save her reputation and keep her family’s line of dirty laundry off the wagging tongues of her home town, Essie gathers her courage and journeys alone to Toronto to start a new life of her own.

Twenty-three-year-old Essie McNeill is one of the kindest small-town girls you could ever hope to meet. Sweet, smart and sensible, she’s always kept her distance from men, often opting for a good book instead. Then she meets Garrett Brewer, and her heart almost stops. A couple of months later, the biggest tragedy to ever hit their hometown of Silverbrook occurs and the Brewer family is at the center of it. Doing the only thing he can to rid himself of the horrific memories, Garrett buys a one-way ticket out of town.

Broken hearted, Essie discovers she’s pregnant ultimately deciding that the best thing she can possibly do for both her and her little daughter is to leave the town and everything in it far behind. As difficult and painful a decision as this is for her, Essie’s determined to put anguish and gnawing fears behind her and create a new life for herself away from suffocating, rumor rampant Silverbrook.

Essie, now living in the city and working as a governess for the prominent Oliver family, meets handsome young lawyer, Christian Simms, who falls hard for her. And despite Essie’s unresolved feelings of guilt, shame and unworthiness, the feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, her employer Madeleine Oliver, has her own agenda where Mr. Simms is concerned. One night, Madeleine, who has a history of mental health issues, falls into a fit of rage and confronts Essie about the relationship. And in a violent and hysterical outburst, issues Essie her two weeks notice.

The incident leaves Essie feeling vulnerable and frightened for her safety, and she realizes she must leave the Oliver house as soon as possible. Knowing that Christian also wants her as far from it as she can get, and wishes to marry her, Essie, who has finally triumphed over learning to accept herself, her past and her feelings for Christian, decides to leave the Oliver residence and marry him. But feeling duty bound to honor the terms of her position and wanting to say goodbye to the children that she’s come to love, Essie gives herself a few days to put things in order.

Did she do the right thing by staying or should she have just walked out the door then and there? Knowing that Mrs. Oliver may not be able to be trusted, has Essie compromised her safety by staying a few days more?