Ashbourne

Eliza Rowan is the daughter of a dead man and a living struggle. After her father's death, she and her mother survive on little more than stubbornness and the small income her mother earns selling greens in the market. Their lives are narrow, watched by hunger and rumor, until a proposal arrives that feels too heavy to refuse: Albert Ashbourne, master of Ashbourne Manor, has requested Eliza's hand.
Eliza has already heard the whispers. A man who never courts his wives himself. A house where women enter and are never seen again. She hates Albert before she ever meets him, and when Ashbourne guards arrive to take her to the manor, she fights them every step of the way. In the carriage, she provokes them deliberately, hoping they will throw her out and end the matter by force. They almost do.
At Ashbourne Manor, Eliza refuses every expectation placed upon her. She disrespects the elders, shoves past the steward, and refuses to bow or soften herself. Her defiance unsettles the household, which is accustomed to obedience, not resistance. Albert himself remains distant at first, bound by duty and secrecy, but over time he and Eliza are forced into proximity-shared meals, long walks, controlled courtings that feel more like negotiations than romance.
Slowly, against both their wills, fondness grows. They speak honestly. They laugh. They survive threats together when enemies test Ashbourne's borders. Eliza sees the man beneath the title, and Albert begins to love her not as a wife chosen by the house, but as a woman who refuses to be owned by it.
Yet Albert carries a terrible truth. Which would put Elizabeth or his heir in danger, The house holds a secret not just that but a strange hunger
When Eliza becomes pregnant, Albert clings to a secret, selfish hope: As Eliza's life is threatened, will Albert confess to his love, what will be Eliza's fate

Read to find out..