An Arranged Betrothal with a Contrite Duke by Sally Forbes

A charming, kind, and intelligent lady who believes in trust and love. Lydia is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen and far from the homely spinster grateful to marry a duke he’d imagined. Can love’s tender shoots survive when the awful truth behind this arranged marriage is exposed?

When reclusive scholar Michael Lawrence, Duke of Strawbridge, sets out to trick the blue-stockinged spinster Lady Lydia Townsend into marriage, he’s never even met his intended bride. His plan is simple: He makes the girl a duchess, and her dowry will include the ancient pottery vase her father owns, which has been Michael’s obsession for years. But after the wedding, seeking solace in his books, overwhelmed with guilt for tricking the lady he’s falling for into marriage, Michael fails in his husbandly duties. When Lydia learns the truth behind their marriage, he fears he’s about to lose something rather precious than a piece of pottery.
Happily on the shelf and busy with her passion for promoting universal education, Lady Lydia Townsend is duped into marrying the handsome, apparently charming Duke of Strawbridge. Ignorant of the real reason why he sought her hand in particular, Lydia, nevertheless, finds him powerfully attractive and agrees to the marriage, hoping love will blossom. But once wed, her husband is kind but reclusive by day, while at night, he shuns her bedchamber. Confused and hurt but determined to be patient, Lydia buries herself in her educational work. She’s pleasantly surprised when the Duke seems to want to support her. Why, he might even care for her despite everything. She’s c