Baron St. Charles
I, Baron Bernard St. Charles, was once the kingpin of a glittering web of upper-class blackmail, gambling dens, and a patron of every vice—until a dangerous deb and her detective suitor put me behind bars.
Prison turned out to be an enlightening experience, a time of atonement—and a time to lick my wounds, particularly the broken heart smarting from losing Miss Ellen Archwood, the dangerous double agent that was my favorite pawn. Only, as she told me, love isn’t selfish, nor is it about control. Miss Archwood claimed I could never love anyone, as I had never experienced the gift of love myself.
I always enjoyed proving her wrong. Battling wits with her was what made me long to best her and keep her for myself. Perhaps that’s why I choose to do the most unselfish thing I can think of when I’m finally free, and offer the widow of one of my victims a chance at a better life—as my wife.
No, it isn’t love. I don’t think I can ever love someone the way I’m meant to, but perhaps… Perhaps saving Violet Richards is the closest I’ll ever get to it.
Violet
Bernard St. Charles is a rake and a monster, a man I’ve spent countless hours cursing for ruining my life—even if I admit to myself it wasn’t truly his doing. He may have introduced my late husband to gambling, but Martin was the one who let it consume him. Now, I’m alone, and in danger of losing my home, and carrying a secret that would put me in an even worse position.
When the ruined rake comes to call, he’s a contrite monster, a man offering me money and an escape. When I tell him I need a husband and provider, not just a lump sum of cold cash, I’m stunned when he offers to fill that role, not out of love or lust, but simply as an act of penance.
As days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, I see the unselfish acts he offers, ever trying to be a better man, and how the old life of sin and crime pull at him. I might be falling in love with a man I told myself I could never forgive, but I can’t help it. Now, I’m left wondering if our unexpected love is enough to keep us safe in the new life we’ve built—or if I’ll lose my broken baron to the shadows once again.
The Ruined Rake features a marriage of convenience that leads to forbidden love with an age-gap and class difference romance. It is a standalone in the Hidden Gems Historical Romance Series.
Genre: Historical Romance
I, Baron Bernard St. Charles, was once the kingpin of a glittering web of upper-class blackmail, gambling dens, and a patron of every vice—until a dangerous deb and her detective suitor put me behind bars.
Prison turned out to be an enlightening experience, a time of atonement—and a time to lick my wounds, particularly the broken heart smarting from losing Miss Ellen Archwood, the dangerous double agent that was my favorite pawn. Only, as she told me, love isn’t selfish, nor is it about control. Miss Archwood claimed I could never love anyone, as I had never experienced the gift of love myself.
I always enjoyed proving her wrong. Battling wits with her was what made me long to best her and keep her for myself. Perhaps that’s why I choose to do the most unselfish thing I can think of when I’m finally free, and offer the widow of one of my victims a chance at a better life—as my wife.
No, it isn’t love. I don’t think I can ever love someone the way I’m meant to, but perhaps… Perhaps saving Violet Richards is the closest I’ll ever get to it.
Violet
Bernard St. Charles is a rake and a monster, a man I’ve spent countless hours cursing for ruining my life—even if I admit to myself it wasn’t truly his doing. He may have introduced my late husband to gambling, but Martin was the one who let it consume him. Now, I’m alone, and in danger of losing my home, and carrying a secret that would put me in an even worse position.
When the ruined rake comes to call, he’s a contrite monster, a man offering me money and an escape. When I tell him I need a husband and provider, not just a lump sum of cold cash, I’m stunned when he offers to fill that role, not out of love or lust, but simply as an act of penance.
As days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, I see the unselfish acts he offers, ever trying to be a better man, and how the old life of sin and crime pull at him. I might be falling in love with a man I told myself I could never forgive, but I can’t help it. Now, I’m left wondering if our unexpected love is enough to keep us safe in the new life we’ve built—or if I’ll lose my broken baron to the shadows once again.
The Ruined Rake features a marriage of convenience that leads to forbidden love with an age-gap and class difference romance. It is a standalone in the Hidden Gems Historical Romance Series.
Genre: Historical Romance