Fire Opals

"I cannot imagine," said Charlotte, "why you should want so unwilling a bride. With your money and your title, surely you can buy one that is willing?"'

His fingers closed more tightly on hers, crushing them before he released her hand abruptly "You shall learn the lesson of that one day, I think," Lord Darcy Arundell said smoothly.

It was the match her father dreamed of. And Charlotte dreaded. She had no illusions. Charlotte knew she'd never be allowed to marry for love. She wanted, at least, to be able to respect the man she'd wed.

Lord Arundell had to be the most insufferably arrogant man she had ever met. But every day Charlotte's chances for a good offer were growing slimmer. Her high spirits and sense of adventure were leading her into scrapes that were ruining her reputation. Her lather insisted that she must be married. Fast. Before there was another scandal.

Once she married, nothing changed. In fact, there was more gossip than ever when Lord Arundell insisted upon keeping his mistress under the same roof as his wife.