‘Will you hold the castle for me, lady, in my name?’ He does not know me. He does not trust me.

‘Do you have to ask?’ With staunchly opposed political views, the new Lord and Lady Mansell are not seeking love during a time of civil war. Francis offered Honoria his name in response to his cousin’s will and the promise of £4000 a year. When their castle is held by Royalist forces Honoria must appear loyal to Francis’s Parliamentarian cause.

Working together to protect their lands, the vows made politically become something more. But where does her loyalty lie? Soon scandalous whispers of betrayal and double dealings land at Honoria’s door. And when the prison keys of London start rattling, Francis must question whether the wife he saved has dealt him the ultimate betrayal?