He never wanted to marry. She had to marry.
When Lord Kenrick Layne rescues Miss Cecelia Woodrow from ruin at the hands of desperate fortune hunter Viscount Bidenden, it isn’t long before he realizes that there is a price to pay for accidental chivalry. And Bessie Dove-Lyon is going to make him pay it.
Cecelia Woodrow, with her reputation in tatters, refuses to allow her uncle to force her into marriage with the man who ruined her. But she must marry someone. When Mrs. Dove-Lyon proposes another suitor, Cecey agrees reluctantly to play her part in a mysterious game where she is the prize.
Now, thrust into a marriage neither of them asked for, Cecelia and Kenrick find that a fiery mutual attraction helps reconcile them to their fate. Banished to Cecelia’s estate in Bedfordshire until the scandal should die down, neither of them expects the country to offer much diversion. But between dead bodies, mysterious accidents and the reappearance of the man who tried to ruin her, country life proves to be anything but peaceful. As Rick and Cecey fall gradually in love, each finds a way to heal the wounds of the past.
But when their enemy strikes, a lapse on Rick’s part may prove fatal. Not only to their happiness, but his very life . . .
Tropes you’ll enjoy:
- Lust to love
- Rescued from ruin
- Forced marriage
- Black sheep hero
- Reluctant bridegroom
- Hero redemption arc
- Heiress heroine
- Tempestuous bride
- Epic grovel
Content note: This story includes an assault on the heroine by someone other than the hero, grief experienced in childhood, murder, accidents, violence, and a duel to the death.
