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

Arabella sighed with envy. “I should love to travel to Paris one day, and buy all the latest fashions.”


“Then you must wed a wealthy man, dearest Arabella!”


Arabella raised her arms to straighten her hat and adjust its veil. “Perhaps I shall.” But I still saw the flash of unhappiness on her face.


Just then, Jem happened out, the chestnut colt dancing on the lead after him.


“What a beautiful animal!” Miss Munro uttered, obviously entranced by the colt’s dashing looks.


“Mr Ruston thought it would be a good idea to turn him loose in the upper paddock, Sir Ashton, to get some of the fidgets out of him after these last days of rain.”


“Oh, may I have him to ride? Please, dear Sir Ashton?” She placed her hand upon my arm and fluttered her lashes. Did she think to work her wiles on me? “Please say I may!”


“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. The colt belongs to someone else.” Even if Geo had never been here to actually take possession of his gift.


Chapter 78