A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy

Elfride finds herself caught in a love triangle and a battle between her heart, her mind and the expectations of those around her – her parents and society. Her two suitors are from very different backgrounds. Stephen Smith is a socially inferior but ambitious young man who adores her and with whom she shares a country background. Henry Knight is the respectable, established, older man who represents London society. Although the two are friends, Knight is not aware of Smith's previous liaison with Elfride. And there's a third man in Elfride's life, Lord Luxellian...