The Matter of a Marquess

The third in USA Today Bestselling Author Jess Michaels' latest series. Viscountess Aurora Lovell has been in love with one man her entire life, but life intruded and never allowed her to be with him. She came to accept it, marrying for title rather than love. Now a widow, she's busy trying to figure out how to manage a scandal about to destroy her world when she is invited to a country party. Desperate to escape the realities of her life, she accepts. Nicholas Gillingham has always lived his life between two worlds. Raised by a servant, but secretly the illegitimate son of the infamous Duke of Roseford, he never felt he belonged. Injured saving others, he is now a war hero and improbably in line to be gifted a title for his service. A way to never feel so helpless as he did when he lost Aurora the first time. But to influence the right people, he needs his brother's help and finds himself at a country party. Time and distance mean nothing when Aurora and Nicholas meet again. But can they overcome a tangled past filled with bitter betrayal, a scandal that could ruin the future AND a very intrusive dog in order to find their way back to each other? Or will love be just as painful the second time around? The third in The Duke's Bastards series, but can be read as a standalone. Length: full length book / 70,000 words Heat Level: Fire extinguishers at the ready. This is the third book in the Duke's By-Blows series, but can be read as a standalone novel