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1Lostlit
I'm looking for a book I read around 2001 (though it was probbaly older than that)
I think it was a regency romance novel. It's set in England.
A young woman woman wants a divorce from her husband who has been away for years. He left on their wedding night when he found out that she was pregnant. He found out by walking in the room and seeing her naked, her hand resting on her slightly rounded tummy.
It's years after that night and she wants a divorce so she can marry a man that is willing to care for her and her daughter. Plus, she likes that this new man doesn't seem interested in sex with her.
Her husband returns to town and agrees to give her the divorce if she agrees to fulfill his sexual wants for a certain period of time. He's still angry and feels like she made a fool of him because he was young and innocent and adored her.
It’s later revealed that she was raped by his brother who died (I think in battle), which is why she chose to marry him. There’s a scene where the mean mother in law that hates her and her daughter discovers hears the little girl laugh and instantly realizes it's just like her dead sons laugh. She realizes the little girl is her granddaughter and is thrilled thinking that her dead son and the woman had fallen in love.
The husband learns the truth of what really happened. Then it’s revealed that the man willing to marry the woman is actually the lover of the dead brother and he wants to be near the little girl because she reminds him of the man he loved and lost. It turns out that the dead brother raped her because he was trying to prove that he wasn't gay. After the rape, he felt guilty and went off to battle where he then died. I think the dead brother's lover kidnaps the little girl and holds the woman a gun point near the end and then they escape.
I hope that was clear. Please help me find this book! Thanks!
I think it was a regency romance novel. It's set in England.
A young woman woman wants a divorce from her husband who has been away for years. He left on their wedding night when he found out that she was pregnant. He found out by walking in the room and seeing her naked, her hand resting on her slightly rounded tummy.
It's years after that night and she wants a divorce so she can marry a man that is willing to care for her and her daughter. Plus, she likes that this new man doesn't seem interested in sex with her.
Her husband returns to town and agrees to give her the divorce if she agrees to fulfill his sexual wants for a certain period of time. He's still angry and feels like she made a fool of him because he was young and innocent and adored her.
It’s later revealed that she was raped by his brother who died (I think in battle), which is why she chose to marry him. There’s a scene where the mean mother in law that hates her and her daughter discovers hears the little girl laugh and instantly realizes it's just like her dead sons laugh. She realizes the little girl is her granddaughter and is thrilled thinking that her dead son and the woman had fallen in love.
The husband learns the truth of what really happened. Then it’s revealed that the man willing to marry the woman is actually the lover of the dead brother and he wants to be near the little girl because she reminds him of the man he loved and lost. It turns out that the dead brother raped her because he was trying to prove that he wasn't gay. After the rape, he felt guilty and went off to battle where he then died. I think the dead brother's lover kidnaps the little girl and holds the woman a gun point near the end and then they escape.
I hope that was clear. Please help me find this book! Thanks!
3rarm
An Arranged Marriage by Jo Beverley. I searched the tagmash "rape, regency" and was rather astonished to find that the first result in the list was the right one.
5rarm
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's more than one Regency romance about a woman who marries her rapist's brother.
6skullduggery
>5 rarm: I know - I did a quick search too, and found it an oddly common plot device - who'd have thought?
OP, how about Once Upon a Scandal by Barbara Dawson Smith? Published late 90s.
"Desperate and alone, Lady Emma tricked Lucas Coulter, the Marquess of Wortham, into a hasty marriage. But on their wedding night, when he learned the truth about his not so innocent bride, he abandoned her. Seven years later, Emma lives in disgrace with her beloved daughter, Jenny. Penniless, Emma provides for her child in the one way she knows how: in the dark of night, she creeps across the rooftops of London and steals jewels from the wealthy nobles who have wronged her. Then Lucas catches her in a daring act of burglary. And he proposes a devil's bargain - give him an heir, or be exposed."
He's apparently unknowingly her rapist's brother. (Nb: Haven't read it though, am suggesting on basis of plot summary and reviews...)
OP, how about Once Upon a Scandal by Barbara Dawson Smith? Published late 90s.
"Desperate and alone, Lady Emma tricked Lucas Coulter, the Marquess of Wortham, into a hasty marriage. But on their wedding night, when he learned the truth about his not so innocent bride, he abandoned her. Seven years later, Emma lives in disgrace with her beloved daughter, Jenny. Penniless, Emma provides for her child in the one way she knows how: in the dark of night, she creeps across the rooftops of London and steals jewels from the wealthy nobles who have wronged her. Then Lucas catches her in a daring act of burglary. And he proposes a devil's bargain - give him an heir, or be exposed."
He's apparently unknowingly her rapist's brother. (Nb: Haven't read it though, am suggesting on basis of plot summary and reviews...)
