Chosen by the Duke

She was not looking for a husband. He was not looking for love. Miss Clara Wren has done five seasons of quiet competence, and she is done expecting anything from the marriage mart. So when the Duke of Marchmont asks her to dance at his own ball — the most-watched man in London, asking its least-watched woman — she says yes mostly to see his face. Gabriel needs a wife who will manage his mother, his seat, and his calendar, and who will not fall in love with him. Clara needs a future. They strike a bargain over tea. What follows is a marriage of excellent manners, wallpaper swatches, and slowly unmanageable conversation. When Clara's former fiancé reappears, married and desperate, Gabriel must decide how far a husband should go to protect a wife who never asked to be protected — and Clara must decide whether to let him. An unpretentious, warm Regency romance of business marriages, real affection, and the pleasure of being chosen on purpose.