Ashton Laytham was a happy little boy until, at the age of seven, he lost his parents. Sent to Fayerweather to be brought up by his uncle and his uncle’s wife, he was perceived to be an unhappy, unlovable child. Shunned by family and servants and permitted no friends to visit, he grows to adulthood alone and aloof, with only an occasional illicit rendezvous to lighten his days. When his uncle dies, leaving the estate virtually bankrupt, it’s left to Ashton to make good on his uncle’s gaming debts and save Fayerweather. But how? The family talisman, worth thousands of pounds, has been stolen and the suspects vanished in the night, leaving Ashton to face the loss of the home he’s come to love. Geo Stephenson, who works in His Majesty’s civil service, has ghosts of his own. The product of a marriage of convenience, Geo has known all his life his father never loved his mother, and he vows that will never happen to him. Marked by a physical scar earned in battle, none of his previous lovers could bear looking at it without shuddering; his mental scars are due to the many friends lost in useless battles. Geo arrives with a fistful of Sir Eustace Laytham’s IOUs and a solution: Ashton accommodating him in bed, thereby paying off the debt. Attracted to Geo in spite of himself and desperate for any human kindness, Ashton agrees ... never expecting to lose his heart to a man who has sworn he’ll never give his. Can these two men find a measure of happiness together?

Bless Us With Content

Blue Boy had a ground-eating canter, and I arrived at the old churchyard in good time. Even with that, Miss Coulbourne was there, accompanied by her companion. I drew the gelding to a halt close by, tipped my hat to them, and dismounted.


“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Mr Laytham.”


“He’s Sir Ashton now, Patricia,” her companion corrected.


Miss Coulbourne blushed. “I’m sorry.”


“No need to apologise. I’m so new to the title I forget half the time.”


“It’s kind of you to say,” her companion murmured.


Miss Coulbourne’s blush grew deeper. “Forgive me. My manners have gone astray. This is Miss Addie Gamwell, my…my companion.”


“Sir Ashton. Would you have any objections to taking a stroll about the church grounds?”


“Erm…not at all.” I assisted the ladies from the curricle, and once they had shaken out their skirts, I decided to get to the heart of the matter. “I regret to inform you Mr Scarlett is no longer in the country.”


Chapter 26