In a vulnerable moment, Alethea Forsythe allows herself to be seduced by a married peer. Now she is with child-and without recourse. Her reputation will soon be in tatters and she will be forced to wed a stranger-unless she takes matters into her own hands.
When Jack Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Manning, is summoned from the House of Pleasure on a matter of importance, he hardly expects to receive a marriage proposal. He's long been aware of Alethea's infatuation with him, but at twenty-three, taking on an expectant bride is not in his plans. Yet the desperation in the lady's lovely eyes overrides his misgivings.
Alethea would not have believed it possible for a man to be too chivalrous. But though her new husband is perfectly amicable in public, he insists they maintain separate quarters. Desperate to possess his heart and prove herself a wife in every way, she boldly reaches out to Jack. And as their unexpected connection between silken sheets is tested by jealousy and misfortune, Jack must decide where honor ends…and true passion begins . . .
