Green Eyes is set in 1832, the story of Anna Traverne, who is left penniless after her husband dies in Ceylon where they had a tea plantation. Now she and her 5-year-old daughter are at the mercy of her husband’s brother, Graham, who, though married, wants Anna in his bed. She resists and is hiding away in the study one night when a man breaks in and tries to steal the Queen’s emeralds, a set of family jewels that was hidden away in a secret compartment.
It turns out the housebreaker is none other than Graham’s half brother, Julian Chase, spurned by the family but who may, in fact, be the true heir. In a tussle, Julian flees and ends up in Newgate prison. Anna realizes Julian has left the emeralds and they are her ticket to a new life. She takes her daughter to Ceylon where Julian pursues her. Not only does he now need the emeralds that were once his mother’s but he has been told the emeralds hold the key to his heritage.
Robards is a great storyteller and I was immediately drawn into Anna’s life. Bold, brash Julian has been wronged. Understandably he is an angry man and he means to take out his frustration on Anna. Loved them both.
It’s a bit of a mystery and an exciting read with a nasty villain in Graham and some delightful secondary characters, including the former prostitute who is Anna’s friend, and Julian’s sidekick, a man whose life he once saved. There’s also a bit of Ceylon’s darker atmosphere thrown in, too.
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