Finding sovereignty

Reid Hansen has been at war for eight years. Injured in an explosion, he is taken to the Sven mansion to recover. Kirsten Sven has reasons not to marry, in spite of her unwanted attraction to the army officer. Reid declares his love for her, but she sends him away by revealing her dark secret. Once Reid procures a land grant in the Missouri territory, he journeys 900 miles back to Philadelphia, finally determined to convince Kirsten to take him as her husband, unaware her marriage to another man is imminent.