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

“One moment.” I pulled the nightshirt over my head, reached for my spectacles, and went to the door. “Ye-Geo?” In spite of myself, I backed away.


And then I was angry with myself. He’d never raised a hand to me; did I expect him to strike me now?


“Might I have a word with you, Ashton?” He stood there hesitantly. His weight was balanced on his walking stick, his hair was dishevelled, and he was in his shirtsleeves, a far cry from his usual tidy appearance.


“Yes, of course. Come in. I’m sorry, I have nothing to offer you—”


“Have I…Have I truly botched things so badly between us?”


“I beg your pardon? I meant a drink.”


“That’s the last thing I need. I’ve been imbibing rather steadily all evening.” It suddenly occurred to me that he was making an effort to enunciate clearly.


Chapter 89