Bradford Stratton needs a wife. It isn't a tragic problem until one considers his disposition. He'd rather spend his days, and nights, with his young lover Frederick. But his father's gently put request that he marry is nothing short of an order, and Bradford won't settle for a silly bit of fluff. When he sees the beautiful Norwegian seamstress, he makes his decision on the spot. He has to have her, even as he knows claiming her could destroy his relationship with Frederick.Ilsa Bergstrom has endured all the abuse she can take from her late sister's cruel husband. But a thirty-year-old childless woman in London's rough Whitechapel has few options for surviving on her own, and after a horrific night of abuse at the hands of three men, she'll never choose whoring as one of them. Yet when handsome nobleman Bradford Stratton makes a scandalous proposition, she accepts without hesitation. Bradford proves to be a gentle and generous lover. But Ilsa knows when something seems too good to be true, it usually is.