A Stolen Bride
(2026)(The sixth book in the Hidden Gems Historical Romance series)
A novel by M Culler
A woman desperate to escape a marriage to a villain. A vicar in need of a wife. Is it really stealing if the bride considers it a rescue?
Matilda Norcross always admired scholarly, quiet Jeremiah Vincent, her brother’s unlikely best friend, but she wasn’t surprised when the boys drifted apart after their school days. While Jeremiah left for seminary, her brother burrowed into London’s criminal underbelly, digging deep enough to put their whole family in danger. Now, her brother’s debtors demand payment, and Matilda is the price they’ve named. When Matilda must choose between being a criminal’s bride or fleeing London, Jeremiah’s sudden reappearance in London is the best wedding gift she could ask for… but it might not be the wedding anyone expected.
Jeremiah Vincent has never given much thought to romance, but marriage is another story. It seems that every curate who hopes to become a proper vicar needs a wife, and sadly, that’s not something you can simply borrow like a library book. When an invitation to the wedding of an old family friend draws him back to London, it quickly becomes clear that Matilda Norcross wants no part of marrying a man who is clearly a crook. Jeremiah, who has always considered himself an honest man, finds himself strangely at peace with the idea of committing a theft—if it’s a bride he’s stealing. After all, is it really a crime if the bride considers it a rescue?
Matilda is shocked when Jeremiah proposes the night before her unwanted wedding, offering her a marriage of convenience based on friendship and faith in a life far from London. Agreeing will mean an escape into a loveless marriage that revolves around restoring a decaying parish in sleepy Somerset, but better a marriage to a friend than to a fiend.
But what if friendship isn’t all that awaits when Jeremiah steals a bride that’s all too eager to be whisked away? Can these two find happiness in a new world, or will the shadows of the past crush a surprising love just as it begins to bloom?
Welcome to the Hidden Gems Historical Romance Series! Each book is a sweet historical romance where women of unique talents find the happy endings they long for with men who love and cherish them.
Genre: Historical Romance
Matilda Norcross always admired scholarly, quiet Jeremiah Vincent, her brother’s unlikely best friend, but she wasn’t surprised when the boys drifted apart after their school days. While Jeremiah left for seminary, her brother burrowed into London’s criminal underbelly, digging deep enough to put their whole family in danger. Now, her brother’s debtors demand payment, and Matilda is the price they’ve named. When Matilda must choose between being a criminal’s bride or fleeing London, Jeremiah’s sudden reappearance in London is the best wedding gift she could ask for… but it might not be the wedding anyone expected.
Jeremiah Vincent has never given much thought to romance, but marriage is another story. It seems that every curate who hopes to become a proper vicar needs a wife, and sadly, that’s not something you can simply borrow like a library book. When an invitation to the wedding of an old family friend draws him back to London, it quickly becomes clear that Matilda Norcross wants no part of marrying a man who is clearly a crook. Jeremiah, who has always considered himself an honest man, finds himself strangely at peace with the idea of committing a theft—if it’s a bride he’s stealing. After all, is it really a crime if the bride considers it a rescue?
Matilda is shocked when Jeremiah proposes the night before her unwanted wedding, offering her a marriage of convenience based on friendship and faith in a life far from London. Agreeing will mean an escape into a loveless marriage that revolves around restoring a decaying parish in sleepy Somerset, but better a marriage to a friend than to a fiend.
But what if friendship isn’t all that awaits when Jeremiah steals a bride that’s all too eager to be whisked away? Can these two find happiness in a new world, or will the shadows of the past crush a surprising love just as it begins to bloom?
Welcome to the Hidden Gems Historical Romance Series! Each book is a sweet historical romance where women of unique talents find the happy endings they long for with men who love and cherish them.
Genre: Historical Romance