Married to a Stranger

Married to a Stranger
Louise Allen

A SHOCK PROPOSAL Sophia Langley’s life is in turmoil. When she learns of her estranged fiancé’s death in a shipwreck, the last thing she expects is for his twin brother, Callum Chatterton, to make a shock proposal! Her inner romantic objects to a marriage of convenience – and brooding Cal makes it very clear that’s all it can be.Yet to save her family Sophia accepts with trepidation – and a highly inconvenient trembling of desire for her reluctant husband! Danger & Desire Shipwreck, Scandals and Society Weddings

Introducing Louise Allen’s most scandalous trilogy yet!

DANGER & DESIRE

Leaving the sultry shores of India behind them, the passengers of the Bengal Queen face a new life ahead in England—until a shipwreck throws their plans into disarray …

Can Alistair and Perdita’s illicit onboard flirtation survive the glittering social whirl of London?

Washed up on an island populated by ruffians, virginal Averil must rely on rebel captain Luc for protection …

And honourable Callum finds himself falling for his brother’s fiancée!

Look for

RAVISHED BY THE RAKE

SEDUCED BY THE SCOUNDREL

MARRIED TO A STRANGER

from Mills & Boon

Historical

About the Author

LOUISE ALLEN has been immersing herself in history, real and fictional, for as long as she can remember, and finds landscapes and places evoke powerful images of the past. Louise lives in Bedfordshire, and works as a property manager, but spends as much time as possible with her husband at the cottage they are renovating on the north Norfolk coast, or travelling abroad. Venice, Burgundy and the Greek islands are favourite atmospheric destinations. Please visit Louise’s website—www.louiseallenregency.co.uk—for the latest news!

Previous novels by the same author:

THE DANGEROUS MR RYDER*

THE OUTRAGEOUS LADY FELSHAM*

THE SHOCKING LORD STANDON*

THE DISGRACEFUL MR RAVENHURST*

THE NOTORIOUS MR HURST*

THE PIRATICAL MISS RAVENHURST*

PRACTICAL WIDOW TO PASSIONATE MISTRESS**

VICAR’S DAUGHTER TO VISCOUNT’S LADY**

INNOCENT COURTESAN TO ADVENTURER’S BRIDE**

RAVISHED BY THE RAKE†

*Those Scandalous Ravenhursts

**The Transformation of the Shelley Sisters

†Danger & Desire

and in theSilk & Scandalmini-series

THE LORD AND THE WAYWARD LADY

THE OFFICER AND THE PROPER LADY

and in Mills & Boon

HistoricalUndone!eBooks:

DISROBED AND DISHONOURED

AUCTIONED VIRGIN TO SEDUCED BRIDE

Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

Author Note

I loved writing about the immediacy and the drama of the wreck of the Bengal Queen in the first two books in my Danger & Desire trilogy, but I found it equally challenging to explore the effect of that several months later on two more people whose lives are changed for ever after the ship hits the rocks. Sophia Langley is miles away, safe in a Hertfordshire village, but after years of believing she knows her destiny now she is forced to come to terms with her very uncertain future. Duty and desire both seem to pull her in the same direction—is it the right one to take? Meanwhile Callum Chatterton has to make a decision that satisfies his sense of duty but which threatens to completely overset his careful plans and equally carefully guarded heart.

One of the joys of writing a series is that I can continue to follow characters from earlier books, and it was fun to encounter Dita and Alistair from RAVISHED BY THE RAKE and Averil and Luc from SEDUCED BY THE SCOUNDREL again, and to glimpse their new married lives. They were as eager for a happy ending for Callum and Sophia as I was—I hope you enjoy reading about their journey to find love as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Married to a Stranger

Louise Allen

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To all my friends in the Cambridge Chapter of the Romantic Novelists’ Association— thanks for the support and the fun.

Prologue

Hertfordshire—1799

‘I love Daniel and I will wait for him and marry him!’ Sophia Langley glared at Cal. Her small bosom—Where had that come from all of a sudden? he wondered—rose and fell within the bodice of her unfashionable gown; her nose, as usual, was smudged with charcoal.

‘It is ridiculous. You are far too young, both of you.’ He resisted the urge to pick her up like the small, underfed kitten she resembled and give her a good shake to try and get some sense into her. Why on earth his twin would fix on the daughter of one of their gentry neighbours to fall for defeated him. The chit wasn’t even out yet.

‘You do not understand me, you have taken virtually no notice of me when we visit, and now you know what is best for me? I am seventeen and Daniel is the same age as you.’ Indignant blue eyes, her best feature, narrowed at him.