The Dark Affair

In Claremont’s deeply passionate and intriguing third tale of “mad passions” set in 1866 (after Lady in Red), Lady Margaret Cassidy, a beautiful and insightful Irishwoman, meets her match. Margaret is desperate to reach Lord James Stanhope, Viscount Powers, and secure the funds and protection she needs to keep her hotheaded brother, Matthew, safe from the English authorities. Driven by necessity, Margaret reluctantly agrees to James’s father’s request that she marry opium-addicted James and nurse him back to health. As Margaret works her magic on James, she is drawn to his handsome, feral strength as well as to the emotional and compassionate man hiding behind a wall of grief over his daughter’s death. James recognizes that beneath Margaret’s pretty exterior lies a woman of great fortitude who remains in pain over her own terrible history. As circumstance and danger test their relationship, the marriage of convenience becomes much more. Fans will delight in the tangible chemistry between the leads and their harsh, realistic journey to redemption and love. (Mar.)