A Suitable Arrangement (Castles and Courtship)

The arrangement may well be suitable, but is it bearable?

As the new Earl of Lismore, it is Sandy Duncan’s duty to save both his family and Lochlarren Castle from impending ruin. He has always known he must marry well, but his father’s deathbed revelation of a slew of other debts creates an unexpected urgency to the situation. With his last breath, Sandy’s father extracts a promise from him to accept the match he has arranged: a marriage to the daughter of a low-born but wealthy English merchant.

While Juliana Godfrey has never had the recognition of Society’s most elite, she has been able to take comfort in what she does have: money—and she has that in spades. Her father’s newest ambition to marry her into the aristocracy, however, could provide her with both things. The fact that the Duncans are Scots—and Highland ones, at that—is not ideal, but an earldom simply cannot be refused.

Despite being the face of the Duncan family’s salvation, Juliana’s reception at Lochlarren Castle is less than warm. As for the earl, he is bewildered to find his prospective bride arrogant and condescending, evidently expecting her future family to be barbaric. In spite of such shaky foundations, however, the match must proceed, bleak as the future may be to both participants. Will first impressions stand against the intimacy marriage brings, or are money and title all Sandy and Juliana can truly hope for from their union?