The Princess by Elizabeth Elliott

Married and widowed at a tender age, Princess Isabel Plantagenet understands her duty: to wed a new husband chosen by her father for the purpose of consolidating his power. Faulke Segrave, a rogue suspected of high treason whose past wives died under mysterious circumstances, is hardly suitor material, but his piercing blue eyes spark a fire in Isabel that makes her feel oddly safe and deeply curious. Quite a pair they will make, for she has dark secrets of her own that can never see the light of day.

Faulke does not relish this arrangement any more than his bride does, but he can’t deny his attraction to this poised, beautiful woman whose level gaze and strong command make him ache to have her. Her seduction becomes his conquest, even as deception and murderous scheming draw closer, threatening Faulke’s life, his heritage, and his cherished wife.