Duty isn't all that drives him…

David, Marquis of Blackwood, needs an heir, but his requirements in a wife are precise. Lady Nicola Wyndham appears to fit the bill—she's older, likes country living, has managed her father's household for some time and nothing detrimental is known about her.

But when he coolly proposes, Nicola's brief look of hurt prompts him to a sudden show of warmth. It gives Nicola hope that they might have a good marriage and she accepts. But she has a secret—which he is bound to find out—and which goes against every idea David has of his future wife….