The Madcap Marriage — Allison Lane

A Daughter of Fortune

There was a time when Helen St. James had everything she could ever want. But when her parents died, a scheming uncle seized his chance and kidnapped his niece--stealing her family's country estate. Kept under lock and key for a year, Helen came dangerously close to a forced marriage. But she fled the altar on foot--and ran until she could run no more. Now, with nothing but a torn gown and her reticule, Helen is at the mercy of London's streets--and if some noble family does not take her in by nightfall, her reputation will be forever ruined...

Rafe Thomas has just sworn to marry the first girl he sees on the road. Any girl would make a better wife than Alice Hillcrest, whose father is blackmailing Rafe into marrying her. But when that first girl he sees is a breathtaking, bewildered temptress with thorns in her wild hair and despair in her limpid eyes, he wonders what he has gotten himself into. One thing is certain, however: Rafe is a man who keeps his word...