To save his wife, he betrayed his duty. To keep her, he must conquer his deepest fear.
When his wife was lost at sea seven years ago, Valentine St Aubyn, Duke of Dalton, nearly destroyed himself searching for her. Since then, the formidable spymaster has survived by discipline, control, and the ruthless belief that love must never be allowed to rule a man.
Until a traitor offers him the impossible.
His wife is alive.
To find her, Dalton must betray the Foreign Office, free a dangerous enemy, and risk everything he has built.
He does not hesitate. But the woman he finds remembers nothing of him.
Vivienne has no memory of being a duchess, no memory of the passionate marriage they once shared, and no memory of loving the dangerously controlled man who storms into the church the day of her wedding claiming she’s his wife.
Desperate to recover her past, Vivienne agrees to spend seven weeks with Dalton. Seven weeks to decide whether she can remain beside a husband who watches her like a man starving. Seven weeks to uncover the secrets hidden within their marriage, their losses, and the devastating love Valentine has spent years trying—and failing—to master.
Because the more Vivienne remembers, the clearer it becomes:
Her husband would burn the world to save her.
And this time, he may lose everything trying.
Tropes:
Amnesia romance
Marriage in trouble / second-chance romance
Reunited lovers
He fell first (and stayed fallen)
Devoted / You are the only one for me hero
Celibate hero
Forced proximity
Tortured duke
Spymaster hero
Slow burn / high heat
Bondage D/s
Kidnapping rescue
Pregnancy after loss / surviving miscarriage
Victorian historical (1867)
Espionage subplot
