Spinner's Lake - Anna Jacobs

This continues on from a book I read very recently (Hallam Square) and is the final book (so far!) based on the Gibson family in Lancashire.  Frederick has now died and his wife is left to cope with running the businesses in a time when people don't want to deal with women (they have no brains and can't understand such matters) including two of her step-children. But Frederick knew she could deal with it and didn't want his other children to benefit from his demise. Thankfully the Gibson clan rally round and support her until she starts to cope with her grief. The artist Tian, who fell in love with her at first sight, gets a letter from the late Frederick saying he would still like him to paint Annie's portrait and if there is still a spark of attraction between them to follow up on it, as he doesn't want Annie to grow into old age alone. So Tian takes a year out and spend sit in America but just as he is about to return he gets tricked into joining the army and it is a while until he returns to English soil, and when he does, after a bang to the head, can remember hardly anything, the only thing he can recall is his love for Annie. She nurses him back to health and they fall in love and together manage to help the rest of the Gibson family and the mill operatives keep their head above water whilst the war lasts, whilst providing them with work - building a lake for the area. 
A lovely romantic book, very easy to read, which shows romance does not always run smoothly.