Lady Louisa Everly needs a husband, not for herself, but for the newborn she has promised to protect.
Julian Cavendish, Duke of Ashvale, cannot reach his eight-year-old ward, who has not spoken a word since losing his parents.
Louisa alone can talk to the grieving boy with her hands, and she proposes a daring family bargain: the duke will give her and the infant his name, and she will give the silent child a voice.
They agree that neither will ever ask for love.
Julian falls for his wife first, yet the more he wants Louisa to stay, the harder he must remember why her love is the one thing he cannot allow.
