Leander, Lord Charrington has a problem. Raised to be a charming diplomat, women fall in love with him. He, however, seems unable to fall in love with them. For wife, therefore, he wants a woman he can live with on honest terms, and an impoverished widow seems ideal. Judith Rossiter thanks heaven for this escape from disaster. But can she keep to the terms of their agreement and not fall in love with her charming husband?

He had no interest in love . . .

Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington, was tired of gadding about the Continent on diplomatic missions. It was time he settled down in his family home with a wife at his side and enjoyed a proper English Christmas. But his search for an intelligent woman without fanciful notions of romance was a frustrating one indeed . . . until he met the very sensible Judith Rossiter. Her figure was most attractive, her manner most pleasing, and her heart kind and gentle. All he wanted was a marriage of convenience, but soon he began to wonder whether his eminently practical mind would be overruled by his surprisingly foolish heart.

Love was all she could offer . . .

It was an odd sort of marriage proposal which left Judith perplexed. Why would an earl, and a most attractive one at that, have any interest in marrying an impoverished widow with two children? It was a peculiar notion to consider but the opportunity to better her family's fortune, particularly in the advent of the approaching holiday season, prompted her to accept his offer. It seemed an ideal arrangement in which she had nothing to fear . . . unless it was losing he heart to this most enigmatic earl!