BLURB
He wished he had never met her… until he saw the world without her.
James Reed, Lord St. George, the Baron of a struggling estate, has spent years in London avoiding the responsibilities of his title and the wife he married for her dowry. Mariah Reed, the daughter of an Irish linen mogul, has spent those same years saving the family estate, supporting the nearby mill town, and secretly nursing dreams of becoming a playwright.
When James returns to Bailey Hall with a secret plan to save his childhood home by pressuring Mariah’s father to lower worker wages, he finds a woman far more passionate and capable than the shy bride he left behind. After a drunken confrontation leads to the destruction of Mariah’s community project and her dreams, James is met by a mysterious figure who shows him what a charmed life he had.
Through a harrowing vision of a world where Mariah never entered his life, James witnesses the ruin of his brother and the total desolation of his town. Faced with the reality of his own selfishness, James must embark on a path of redemption to prove to Mariah, and himself, that he is worthy of the life she built for them.
Return to the Victorian world of the Lords Fall First series in this emotional, second-chance holiday romance!
EXCERPT
He spent five years ignoring their arranged marriage until a brush with death made him realize she’s the only thing that matters. Too bad she isn’t interested in his apologies.
“Mariah,” he began purposefully, “something happened, I—” How could he explain what had happened without sounding like a madman? She would likely have him sent to Bedlam if he attempted to explain his revelations. “I don’t know how to say this to a person such as you.”
“A person such as m-me?” While her tone had previously leaned toward emotionlessness, he recognized his error as her body became rigid.
Double damn, he had only meant he did not know how to apologize to a woman, but he had well and truly put his foot in it.
“I’m sorry.” Was all he found he could say. “For the assembly hall, for Barrymore. Bloody hell, for everything. For spending your father’s hard-earned money on anything besides saving the estate. I’ve been…beyond selfish since we wed, it’s only taken me losing almost everything to see it.”
She stayed in the same position before him, her uneven breath the only indication she was at all affected by his words. For a moment, something softened in her eyes before that chilling emptiness returned.
“Very w-well. I accept your apology.”
“Mariah, you can’t—” he began before her words registered. “You do?” A previously unknown joy shot off within his chest. “Mariah, I don’t deserve you, thank heavens. I was thinking, perhaps… Perhaps we could start again, you and I—”
“James,” she said sharply. “I said that I f-forgive you, but I would still like for you to go to London.”
“My lord,” she continued, “I b-believe that we should carry on as we had before. Live s-separate lives.”
“But why should we when we have this?” He let out a low growl, closing the distance between them before ensnaring her waist in his firm embrace, hoisting her closer to his heat. His gaze descended to her pillowy lips, lingering for a heartbeat to offer her the chance to utter a denial.
When no denial came, he claimed her mouth with his own. She tasted of tea and fresh mint, a scent uniquely hers that he had relished upon many occasions, yet never before had their coupling kindled such a profound sense of exhilaration within him. Embracing her now sparked a previously unknown ecstasy as he finally acknowledged the truth of his own heart.
“How can we live apart when we have this?” he rasped, reluctantly pulling his lips from hers.
Her dilated eyes refocused, and she shoved his hands off of her and turned, wrapping her dressing gown around herself more tightly. “Just because I forgive you does not mean I trust you. Or wish to have a real marriage with you.”
“Mariah… I think I could love you. I’m…I’m falling in love with you.”
Mariah stared at him as something pulsed in those midnight blue eyes. Then, as if a curtain had been drawn, they went blank.
“You d-don’t know me, James. Not really.”
Author Info
Anna Valleria is an award-winning historical romance author who believes that everyone deserves to see themselves on the page. Her mission is to write steamy Regency and Victorian stories featuring socially active heroines and devoted heroes that reflect windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for all readers, including characters of different sizes, backgrounds, abilities, and neurodiversities. Her novel The Baron Takes a Wife was the 2025 winner of the Hearts Through History Romance Through the Ages Contest in the published Georgian/Victorian category.
Currently residing in a beautiful, historic city in the southeastern U.S. with her family and a rescue pup. If she's not writing, she's likely in a coffee shop, walking with her son or dog, or trivia with her team, Stone Cold Jane Austen.
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