Wedded Deceit by Antonia Falk

He had nothing left to live for but revenge… A humble thatcher’s son, Thomas Rickard left for the Crimean War with a single purpose: to die. Having failed against all odds to achieve his end, he found himself adrift with nothing but his two fists to recommend himself. Hardening his heart, he forged a new resolve: to destroy the earl who’d taken everything from him. Now a wealthy and formidable man, nothing will stop him from settling the score. Not even the object of his enemy’s desire—Harmonia Sedley. For the gorgeous heiress is exactly who Rickard plans to take in recompense. Until she contrived an arrangement that neither could resist… Determined and impassioned, Harmonia Sedley’s ascent to the aristocracy is nearly in hand. Her whole life she’s longed to shed her family’s second-rate reputation. But with her machinations nearly realized, the prospect of a chilly marriage to a cruel earl feels intolerable. She’ll escape—by whatever means. Including a sham engagement to a mysterious stranger hell-bent on vengeance. With the gambit underway, all they need to do is play their parts. The only thing she didn’t account for was the desire Thomas Rickard would stir in her… A note to readers—Wedded Deceit is a historical romance novel of 82,000 words containing open-door sex scenes and strong language.