The Duchess of Ash and Thorn
41 parts Ongoing Lady Seraphina Ashbourne, eldest of three daughters, has been the darling of the Season for three years-but she's turned down every proposal. She believes in love, not alliances, and no man has stirred her heart.
When Lord Tristan Blackthorn, the illegitimate son of a powerful duke, arrives at her estate with a cold, calculated marriage proposal, Seraphina is insulted. She dismisses him as nothing more than a power-hungry social climber-and makes sure he knows it.
Humiliated and infuriated, Tristan returns to the North with his pride wounded but his resolve stronger. He doesn't want a wife-but he needs one, or risk losing his inheritance to a younger half-brother who is favored by their father.
When Seraphina's father, the Marquess of Ashbourne, falls gravely ill and their family's future is threatened, the only way to secure her sisters' futures and preserve the family name is through the very man she scorned.
Thus begins a reluctant engagement-a forced marriage of convenience between a proud, idealistic lady and a hardened, bitter bastard nobleman.
They despise each other. But fate-and love-have other plans.