Betty Neels Collection - Book 18

Marriage of convenience story. ( )

This is one of my favorite Neels novels, one of her early ones set mostly in Amsterdam. I reread it because it's always fun to read Betty when I'm in Holland, this time smack in the middle of the city. And it did not disappoint.

Sister Deborah Culpeper is hopelessly in love with Gerard van Doorninck, the distinguished, large, and quiet Dutch Doctor she works with. When he asks her to marry him., out of the blue, she has to say yes even though it is to be an unromantic MOC. They move back to his home in Amsterdam where she is welcomed by his family and where Gerard works all the time. Deborah learns Dutch, entertains his friends and colleagues, and meets English wives from previous Neels novels (the connected stories are Sister Peters In Amsterdam and Saturday's Child).

This being Early Neels, there are accidents, trips to the countryside, visits to Deborah's family, and the like. There are also interesting cultural tidbits. The romance is slow burn to the max. I loved every minute. ( )

I mainly like the first chapters of this book, which describes what is going on in a hospital. The hero proposes a marriage of convenience to the heroine, who is secretly in love with him.