A Too Convenient Marriage
by MFRW Author Georgie Lee
A secret carried down the aisle!
Late one night, Susanna Lambert, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Rockland, bursts uninvited into a stranger's carriage, turning both their worlds upside down. Suddenly, fun-loving Justin Connor finds himself forced to consider marriage!
For Susanna, marrying Justin is a chance to finally escape her cruel stepmother and forget about the rake who ruined her. But as wedding bells begin to chime, Susanna discovers she's carrying a huge secret…one that could turn to dust all promises of happiness as Justin's wife!
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"Lee continues to captivate. Book two in her Business of Marriage series is another great marriage of convenience. There’s tension, turmoil and drama on every page. Riveting."
- 4 Stars RT Book Reviews on A Too Convenient Marriage
EXCERPT: London—May 1818
'Marry you?' Helena Gammon sat back from Justin Connor, her ungloved hand stilling on his chest beneath his shirt. A horse snorted from somewhere outside his chaise where it sat parked in a long row of conveyances in front of Vauxhall Gardens.
'I'm quite serious. We get on well together, especially at night,' Justin murmured against the buxom little widow's neck. 'Soon, I'll have the resources to establish myself in the wine trade. I'll need a wife who can manage as well in my business as in my bed.'
She shifted out of his embrace and laid her hands in her lap as though they were at tea. 'There are other matters to consider.'
Her lack of enthusiasm wasn't how he'd imagined this proposal unfolding.
'Such as?' Justin leaned back against the squabs, sure he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.
'You aren't likely to make a go of it.' She shrugged as though his failure was predetermined. 'Not after what happened with the last one.'
'The storm sank the ship.' And my business. He pulled his gaping shirt closed. He thought everyone understood that little fact. Apparently he was wrong. 'There was nothing I or anyone could have done to prevent it.'
Despite months of careful planning, researching, investing, hiring the most capable captain and the sturdiest ship, his first foray into business had dropped to the bottom of the English Channel, taking with it a considerable amount of his money. He hated ships.
'Even if you did manage to make a go of it, I'm tired of being some unpaid servant to my husband's ventures. I worked myself to the bone with Mr Gammon. Now I want to be free of such concerns.' She tugged her bodice up higher over her ample breasts. 'Mr Preston asked me to marry him this morning and I accepted.'
'You did what?' He hadn't realised the old furrier was sniffing around the widow, much less falling on his knees in front of her in infatuation.
'He's rich and has people to take care of his business for him.'
'He's well over sixty and not likely to keep you amused in the evenings.'
'That's why I'm here.' She laid her hand over the open flap of his breeches. 'I thought we could continue.'
He caught her fingers. 'After a year, you should know I won't dally with another man's wife, or help a woman break her marriage vows.'
She pulled back her hand. 'When did you become so serious about anything except Mr Rathbone's business?'
'I tend to be serious when there's the possibility of violence,' Justin growled, seeing Helena's true colours for the first time and despising them. He'd thought their convenient arrangement was based on some measure of respect and affability. He'd been mistaken.
ABOUT Georgie Lee
A lifelong history buff, Georgie Lee hasn't given up hope that she will one day inherit a title and a manor house. Until then, she fulfills her dreams of lords, ladies and a season in London through romantic fiction. Her Regency romances have won first place in the ACRA Heart of Excellence Contest and the OKRWA International Digital Awards.
When not writing, she can be found reading non-fiction history or watching any movie with a costume and an accent. To learn more about Georgie Lee and her books, please visit www.georgie-lee.com.
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