Until a chance meeting forces Kate and Josie to confront the truth of that night nearly twenty years before - a truth that turns both worlds upside down and threatens to destroy their friendship forever. One of those feel good books that's quite predictable with its twists and turns but a fun read either way. Although the reader can see the way the book will go the reader stays interested and needs to find out how things unwind. This fit the bill: a princess and the pauper fairytale, as it were, with evil uncles and stepmother, two foundlings, honorable men (and a few dishonorable ones), and a story that rockets between country estates and London's East End, and a happy ending, of course. There is no relationship development or apparent getting to know each other before they are suddenly smitten.

She is often repentant after the fact and occasionally shows flashes of maturity even at her worst though they don’t last. This novel set in the 19th century about two babies born to very different circumstances is compelling. Some parts of the book seemed a bit contrived to fit the story and didn't really represent natural occurrences.Whilst Kate grows up knowing only poverty and servitude, Josie's world is one of privilege and luxury. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. Normally a protagonist of hers falls on hard times, and is destitute in London for most of the novel. I never truly liked Josie, raised as a lady, because she is unthinking, hypercritical, and selfish, but I came to appreciate her flawed but contrite nature. She lived in the rat infested stables with the smell of horses clinging to her hair and clothes, while Josephine Damerell, the spoilt, petted and over-indulged daughter of the house, dwelt in luxury.

Another enjoyable read from Dilly Court set in the mid 19th century, however, I found it full of unbelievable occurrences. I especially appreciated the clear presentation of the way different strata of society lived, demonstrated both in description and simple comments about how only the wealthy have the luxury of not knowing how much coin they possess.Kate hurried homeward as fast as the iron-clad pattens would allow, wrapping her thin shawl a little tighter around her head and shoulders. The Romany grandmother finds a safe home for this girl as well, both children growing up believing themselves legitimate.

One was of Romany heritage and one from higher social standing but circumstances swapped their upbringing. I know this happens in fiction, but usually it's because they are seeking the person they suddenly find. Two desperate young mothers give up their babies on the same day, and while Kate grows up in poverty, Josie lives a privileged life. The child of a noblewoman born out of wedlock is also in her care after she found the mother already in labor by the river.As the years have passed, Kate has grown up knowing only poverty and servitude, whilst Josie's world is one of privilege and luxury. In this novel, they just seem to happen upon each other, in the wrong part of the country and for no apparent reason other than that it needs to happen to continue the story. Two female babies denied their birth mothers and brought up in very different, yet side by side circumstances. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. It begins in the night on a hill where a Romany woman awaits the birth of her daughter’s illegitimate child for whom she has arranged a home.