Book #3

Book #1 A Sham Engagement, Book #2 A Hint Of Scandal. Isabella Hope was married ten years ago at eighteen to Marcus, the spoiled and spiteful young Duke of Stourbridge. When her father died shortly afterwards, Isabella inherited his wealth, which Marcus took control of. Marcus turns out to be a cruel husband and a serial adulterer. He holds it against Isabella that she hasn't given him the heir he needs, and when he dies in mysterious circumstances, his title and estate pass to the cousin he bullied when they were children. Captain Richard Carstairs, Marcus's long-estranged cousin, is a rough diamond of a man who's been off soldiering since he was a boy. Eventually, Richard receives news of his inheritance and returns from the peninsula to claim his title and property. He discovers he has a sitting tenant at his country estate - the previous duke's widow. A widow who might be guarding a terrifying secret. Richard decides to marry in a hurry and get himself an heir so he can return to what he loves best - soldiering. To this end, he asks Isabella to find him a suitable bride, and in so doing, he discovers that she is the woman for him.