The Knight Falls First

Anne Sutton has the beauty and breeding to make a gentleman's wife, but not the dowry. When her parents offer her to the vile Calvin Vaughn, Anne does something a gentleman's daughter would never do: she decides to ruin herself. And the best means at hand is Calvin's prodigal older brother, Hew, lately returned from war. Hewitt Vaughn is either the hero of Acre or under a cloud of disgrace-he's yet to find out which. He's home to recover from his wounds and take charge of the family estates; stealing his brother's fiancée is decidedly not a way to redeem himself. But when the lovely, desperate Anne entreats Hew's help, how can he, as a man of honor, deny her? When Anne's plan spectacularly backfires, the only solution is a forced marriage-to each other. But as she makes a home in Newport, Anne wonders if Hewitt Vaughn is the smartest mistake she ever made. And Anne might be the future he never dreamed he could have, but to win her, Hew has to persuade her he would have chosen her anyway-and he'll have to defeat the dangerous enemy who wants to take everything from them, including one another.