Wicked Scoundrel

"Pretend I am like that necklace you are wearing. Everyone will be looking at the jewels and no one will notice the setting that is holding the jewels together."

Rose Elliston needs to marry, and her requirements are simple - that she is able to maintain the lifestyle she had as the Duchess of Sandhurst. While Matthew Hardy is able to provide all that she needs, he is not a titled gentleman. In fact, he is a bastard and a moneylender and all those things that Rose can barely accept in a new husband. But he does not flinch when she tells him the reason why: she is pregnant and must marry soon. Like tonight. Here at the gaming hell of Alice DuPuis. And did she mention that she has two daughters? And no, the child is not the progeny of her deceased husband. Can a woman have no secrets?

With the marriage ceremony completed, Rose must learn to deal with her change in status and the awkwardness of living so intimately with a stranger she also happens to be falling in love with. Every time she thinks she has made the right decision, she uncovers another of Matthew's carefully hidden reasons for marrying her.