Enchanting Samantha

[vintageromancereader]

Samantha sympathized with the problems of the elderly Dutch woman who was admitted to the hospital where she worked.

But she didn't realize that her encounter with Juffrouw Boot's employer, the striking Giles ter Ossel, would bring her so much heart-searching. Perhaps one shouldn't get involved with one's patients? Yet...

Original Publisher: Harlequin
Original Year of Publication: 1974
Page Count: 188

Pretty much what it says on the tin. An old lady who doesn't speak English is rushes to Clement's hospital in London with badly burned hands, because the only word the emergency services could understand was "Clement's." Samantha Fielding, the staff nurse on night duty, is assigned to the case, and everyone is curious to see who will come find this little old lady, for she was picked up at an exceedingly fashionable address. As it happens, she is an old family friend/housekeeper for the prominent Dutch physician Giles ter Ossel, who sees patients at St Clement's; hence the mixup. Giles seems mostly bemused by Samantha; he is good friends with the consulting physician at Clement's, Sir Joshua, and they keep a close eye on Juffrouw (Klara) as she is recovering.

We learn a bit about Sam's normal routine. She lives in a small flat with 3 other nurses; they are friends and share chores, as they all work different shifts. She was raised by her grandparents, whom she still returns to visit in Weymouth during all of her off days from work. She is surprised when Giles shows up in Weymouth, as the guest of the local squire; she can't quite decide if she likes him or not, as she finds him at times patronizing and mocking.

When she returns to work, the ancillary staff at Clement's have gone on strike, leaving the household duties to the nursing staff, on top of their regular duties. Sir Joshua and Giles show up one day, sleeves rolled up to pitch in, much to the nursing staff's surprise. Giles is also fairly solicitous about Sam, making sure she eats and gets home all right, with enough time to sleep between shifts. Sam decides that she likes him now, but fears their acquaintance is tenuous, as Klara has returned to health and left the hospital.

Samantha is especially assigned to her next patient (which is uncommon): a teenage girl named Antonia van Duyren, who is suffering with jaundice. Antonia is young and beautiful in spite of her sallow coloring, and she takes to Sam very quickly. Antonia is the younger sister of Baron van Duyren, from Holland, who just happens to be a close personal friend of Giles ter Ossel. Sam is disconcerted to see Giles when he visits Antonia, instantly believing that they are betrothed basically because they are friendly with each other.

Sam is asked to accompany Antonia back to Holland, the trip arranged by the Baron and Giles, and she reluctantly accepts. Her feelings for Giles means that she's constantly suffering when she's around him, as she believes he's constantly mocking her. Giles arranges for them to spend a day together exploring the country before she leaves, which Sam both enjoys and hates, because now she's sure its the end of the road for them. She returns to London and decides to quit her job and move to Brazil, where she will have slim to no chance of running into Giles, now that she's convinced he's to be married.

There is a small misunderstanding, as Sam neither outright asks Antonia OR Giles if they are getting married, and Antonia doesn't tell Sam who she *is* marrying when she announces her engagement, but once Giles gets wind of all this, he's racing back to London to correct the mistake and win Sam over for good. He calls her "enchanting" several times throughout the book, hence the title.

I seemed to have picked two frustrating female leads in a row, which is never fun. Samantha Fielding is obstinate throughout the entire book; she's so convinced that she's plain and dowdy that no one will ever look at her, and she spends a lot of time convincing herself that Giles is either (1) mocking her, or (2) being pity-nice to her for some unfathomable reason. Girl, this man rolled up his sleeves to wash dishes during an ancillary force strike at a hospital that's not even his, he takes you to breakfast, guides you home, makes you tea, irons your uniform, makes excuses to see you, kisses you a lot, whisks you off to his homeland on a fairly flimsy pretense. That is not pity - that is adoration. Why he adores you so much, I have no idea, because you are stubborn, obtuse, a bit of a martyr, and you decide that moving halfway around the world is the best way to get over your feelings. My eyes can't roll far enough back in my head for this.

Of course, we only get one scene from Giles's POV, and its at the end, so there's not much help from that quarter. These older vintage romances that are completely opaque on one half of the OTP are sometimes frustrating to read.

I can't really go higher than 2 stars for this one. Giles is actually pretty lovely, but Sam is dumb as a box of rocks for basically no reason other than angst. Bleh!

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