You're probably thinking how can a wealthy, caucassion girl be chained when she isn't even a slave?
Well, you see Mary might not have chains wrapped around her, but instead, she is chained to a life that we all would dread.
After the death of her mother, her father became bankrupt, but he still kept up with the charade because he was too proud to show the world how miserable his life has become.
He sells her off to marry a man that possesses no morals, on her sixteenth birthday. He finds glory out of abusing his slaves and humiliating them and he sees women as mere sex objects and cooks to satisfy his lustful needs.
When Mary arrives in Virginia, to be with her fiancé, she believes that all hope is lost until she sets eyes on a nineteen-year-old stable boy, named Walter. This African-American is one of many of her fiancé's slaves, so what will happen if he finds out about the love that will blossom between the two?
If he does indeed find out about this unlawful secret, Walter will be executed and Mary will be shunned and be labelled as a tart.
So what is Mary going to do?
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.