Sand Against the Wind — Claire Tremaine

There had been two beautiful women in Gilles de Severgny's life; was there room for a third? Emma Davenport asked herself soon after her marriage to the man who was rumored to be the wealthiest--and certainly the handsomest--man in France. The first, Gilles' beloved Dianne,, was just nineteen when she mysteriously died, scarcely three months after bearing him a still-horn heir... The other, the sensual and knowing Gabrielle du Clair, had been de Severgny's friend for years. Her short-lived marriage to an older man had thrust her into merry--and wealthy-- widowhood. Now, to a Paris fomenting with the strife of revolution, de Severgny brings Emma... his second choice for a second wife. Jilted by her beautiful sister Aurelia, de Severgny's marriage to Emma was governed as much by his wish to avoid gossip as his unexplainable, strange need to bring home an English bride. Though: neither could deny the mysterious and magnetic force between them, Emma couldn't help but wonder: would they be drawn together by love-- or pulled apart by the ghosts from the past who haunted de Severgny's heart?