To extricate himself from financial
difficulties, John Beauclerc, the Earl of Finchley, concocts a
scheme to marry a stranger who's answered his advertisement. He'll
show his grandmother! That lady’s withholding money until he can
demonstrate more maturity and less scandalous behavior. At six and
twenty, the last thing he wants is to settle down. He goes to the
church at St. George's Hanover Square to wed Miss Margaret Ponsby of
Windsor, send her on her way with £100, and continue to pursue wine,
women and faro with his fun-seeking friends.
After the ceremony, he realizes he's married
the wrong woman. Miss Margaret Ponsby of Windsor obviously
thought the wedding was to occur at St. George's Chapel in Windsor.
Lady Margaret Ponsby was at St. George's in London. How can
he extricate himself from this wretched marriage—a marriage over
which his grandmother is ecstatic?
If only Lady Margaret Ponsby weren't so shy.
When the lanky young (though most disreputable) earl she's
worshipped from afar for as long as she could remember asks her to
move to the church's altar with him, she's powerless to decline.
Even after a wedding ceremony begins, she still remains mute. She
must be standing in for Lord Finchley's true bride. But once she
realizes she really is married to Lord Finchley, she determines to
do everything in her power to make this a dream marriage. Even if it
means imitating her clever, talkative sister.
Read an excerpt from
Countess by Coincidence