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Summary

Lady Beatrice Ellingham knows that a family can be ruined without losing one’s composure. What she doesn’t know is how much damage a single clause written by dead men can cause. 
When a provision in a will threatens to strip her of custody of her sister Cecily, Beatrice realizes that the law won’t come in time to save them. She needs a husband. Not an owner. Not a savior. An ally powerful enough to stand up to the man who intends to decide both their futures. 
Adrian Valehurst, Earl of Ravensmere, is exactly the kind of gentleman a respectable widow should avoid: arrogant, brilliant, dogged by rumors, and all too accustomed to society deeming him dangerous. But he is also the only man who doesn’t seem intent on turning protection into a cage. 
The agreement is simple: a marriage of convenience, clear boundaries, separate bedrooms, and no room for love. 
But in the salons of London, where every glance becomes a rumor and every silence can ruin a reputation, feigning intimacy may be more dangerous than telling the truth. And when Beatrice begins to discover that the clause may hide something far darker than a simple marital condition, she will have to decide if Adrian is yet another threat to her freedom… or the first man willing to give her back the power to choose. 
A Regency historical romance featuring a marriage of convenience, family secrets, simmering tension, sharp dialogue, and a heroine who is not willing to be saved if the price is obedience.

Duration: about 6 hours (05:48:03)
Publishing date: 2026-05-05; Unabridged; Copyright Year: — Copyright Statment: —

• Romance