A Love No One Would Permit

Ghent, 1903. Nora Kelleher has come from County Cork with little money, remarkable skill, and an unromantic wish for a secure future. Her work as a lace designer brings her to the attention of Bastien Verhaegen, heir to a powerful Flemish textile firm. Bastien is drawn to Noras quick wit, exacting craft, and refusal to flatter him. But their growing affection crosses the line that Ghents respectable drawing rooms have drawn between employer and worker.

A stolen kiss sets whispers moving through workshops and salons alike. Noras commissions begin to suffer, and Bastiens instinct is to shelter her from scrutiny—even if shelter means secrecy. Then a missing pattern book points to a coercive transfer of a late designers work and to the long shadow of the Meridian Correspondence Society. Protecting the family factory might protect hundreds of wages, but concealing the evidence would mean betraying Noras trust and the very craft that brought them together.

As love falters under the weight of class, obligation, and withheld truth, Bastien must learn that honour cannot be practised on another persons behalf. Nora, too, must discover whether accepting partnership necessarily means surrendering independence. Against the rhythms of factory bells, choral evenings, and lace bobbins, they must choose whether their future is worth the price of being seen.

An emotionally rich Belle Époque historical romance about forbidden love, working lives, and the courage to make private devotion public. A complete romantic story within The Six Languages of Love series.