Her family craved nobility, his desperately needed wealth. So Marisa's moneyed father arranged to wed one of his daughters to the brooding, mystery-shrouded Justin St. Clare, Earl of Straeford, soldier and woman-hater. For although the Earl's dashing good looks attracted every coquette in England, his mother's secret and terrible deeds had driven him to total disdain for the opposite sex. Only to save his beloved Straeford Park - and to acquire an heir, would the Earl consent to marry But to Marisa Loftus, the Earl was more than a purchased title. He was her lord - and even as Napoleon's armies battled Europe's bastions, so would she storm the armored fortress of his sealed heart to fight for their growing love, the love that was such Tender Torment