If the gossips of the ton can agree on one thing, it is that an earl cannot possibly marry his mistress.

Four years ago, Lord Jasper Taverston, heir to the Earl of Iversley, marshalled his considerable resources to protect the brave woman he desired and claim her for his own. Now, as the newly ascended earl, Jasper is prepared for all the responsibilities of his position except for the most important: ensuring the Taverston line. For that, he needs a wife. Wealthy, handsome, and effortlessly charming, he shouldn’t find courting to be a trial. But he does. Because no lady of the ton can compare to his mistress.

Mrs. Vanessa Wardrip, a soldier’s widow, has always known that her arrangement with Lord Taverston would be temporary. After all, he is a peer of the realm, and she is the daughter of a mill owner. When she agreed to be Jasper’s lover, she asked him to promise her one thing: that when the time came for him to marry, he would tell her first, allowing her a dignified retreat.