The Road Through Rushbury — Martha Keyes

All she needs is a little bit of change. She'll have to fight him for it.

Georgiana Paige is on the shelf after eight full Seasons in London and not a single offer of marriage. When the opportunity to act as companion to her spinster aunt presents itself, she jumps at the chance to escape the Marriage Mart and embark on a new adventure. Upon her eventful arrival in the tiny Yorkshire village, though, she finds herself confronted with a man who both piques her interest and provokes her pride.

A lowly country vicar, Samuel Derrick would do anything to keep his coarse but idyllic parish the way it is. When change arrives there in the form of multiple new tenants straight from London, he vows to fight against their meddling. He is unprepared, though, for Georgiana Paige and the way she forces herself into the inner workings of the parish. His past experience tells him to keep the woman at arm's length, but his heart -- and her determination to stay involved -- won't allow for it.

As the village fights against the industrialization and poverty sweeping the North, Samuel and Georgiana find themselves working to pull the village together, even as those around them seemed determined to pull it apart. But how can two people who have lived such disparate lives bring anything together when they are fighting against their own desires for change and love?


She agreed to marry on impulse; he agreed for money.

Kitty Stokes never imagined she'd be so weak as to sacrifice herself on the altar of family obligations, but when her brother impresses upon her that her only alternative to marriage with Phineas Hayworth is to play nursemaid to his own children, Kitty agrees against her better judgment. On her wedding day, the certainty she has made a grave error is only outweighed by the realization that it's too late to back out now.

Phineas Hayworth refrained from setting eyes on his new bride before their wedding day. It was the price he forced himself to pay for being so mercenary as to contract a marriage with a wealthy merchant's sister to save his estate from foreclosure. Her beauty, therefore, comes as a shock, as does her icy treatment, which he cannot but secretly feel he deserves. He swears an oath he will not approach her for an heir unless the invitation comes from her.

As Phineas sets out to repair the estate, dismiss lazy servants, and bring Kitty to Bath to present her to local Society, he finds his wife to be more enchanting than he could have hoped for, even in a love match. Kitty continues to hold him at arm's length, although he suspects her feelings for him run just as deep. As Phineas's love and desire for his wife grows, the oath he swore her begins to suffocate, and it soon becomes clear he must win her over completely or spend the rest of his life in a loveless marriage.

Check out the other books in the multi-author series to discover stories about change and love.

Book One: The Road Through Rushbury by Martha Keyes
Book Two: A Forgiving Heart by Kasey Stockton
Book Three: The Last Eligible Bachelor by Ashtyn Newbold
Book Four: A Well-Trained Lady by Jess Heileman
Book Five: The Cottage by Coniston by Deborah M. Hathaway
Book Six: A Haunting at Havenwood by Sally Britton
Book Seven: His Disinclined Bride by Jennie Goutet