Lady Rowen Buxley has always been the sensible one. Logical. Cool-headed. Unerringly responsible. Until a silver-tongued rake talks his way beneath her skirts, plying her with promises of love and marriage that leave her ruined...and pregnant with his child. When the blackguard refuses to marry her, Rowen is left with two choices: either find a new man to take his place or risk total ruination as an unwed mother. The answer is clear. She must find a husband and she must find one fast, for the sake of her reputation, her siblings, and her unborn child's future. But where will she ever find a gentleman willing to give her his name—a woman carrying another man's child?
Gabriel Desmond, the Earl of Ainsley, has desired Rowen Buxley from the first moment he met her. But, as she is his good friend's younger sister, he never dared make his regard known, for any man of honor knows that is a line one must never cross. He never dreams he'll have a chance to win Rowen's hand, but his luck takes a turn when he learns she is with child, and that the bounder responsible for seducing her is none other than Gabriel's own cousin. Never one to pass up a golden opportunity, Gabriel offers to marry her himself under the pretense of restoring honor to his family name and, miraculously, Rowen agrees.
She needs his name. He wants her heart. But can this marriage based on duty and necessity somehow become a love to last a lifetime?
This novella is part of "A Society of Scandal," a multi-author collaboration aiming to highlight the joy of reading historical romance and escaping to the past in this wondrous genre.
Genre: Historical Romance
Gabriel Desmond, the Earl of Ainsley, has desired Rowen Buxley from the first moment he met her. But, as she is his good friend's younger sister, he never dared make his regard known, for any man of honor knows that is a line one must never cross. He never dreams he'll have a chance to win Rowen's hand, but his luck takes a turn when he learns she is with child, and that the bounder responsible for seducing her is none other than Gabriel's own cousin. Never one to pass up a golden opportunity, Gabriel offers to marry her himself under the pretense of restoring honor to his family name and, miraculously, Rowen agrees.
She needs his name. He wants her heart. But can this marriage based on duty and necessity somehow become a love to last a lifetime?
This novella is part of "A Society of Scandal," a multi-author collaboration aiming to highlight the joy of reading historical romance and escaping to the past in this wondrous genre.
Genre: Historical Romance