Pity for Pamela

Her father's death left Pamela an heiress at the age of ten--but his will was designed to keep her from his erring wife, who was disinherited. Pamela, precocious in many ways, loved her mother fiercely, and vowed to fight to spend time with her. As Pamela grew to be a desirable young woman, she recognized that her guardian had the power to keep her and her mother apart. And then the guardian died... Pamela gradually realizes the truth about her own past, and about the only man she's ever loved, and finally takes the only means she can find to solve her problems. - GoodReads