Merely Married

• Author: Patricia Coughlin
• Publisher: Bantam
• Year: 1998
• Setting: England
• Amazon Listing - Merely Married

Adrian Devereau, Duke of Raven, drunk and desperate, encounters a deathly ill young woman, and seizing upon the suggestion of a friend, decides to marry the woman -- figuring he'll be a widower before she realizes what's happened. Things don't work out the way Raven plans, and his bride survives. Leah Stretton, now recovered, takes advantage of her new station in society to enact a few schemes of her own. Before she'll walk away from the marriage, the Raven name will be used to secure a good husband for her younger sister.

Raven is a dark, debauched hero, and Patricia Coughlin has fun with her characters as they try to achieve their goals while extricating themselves from a marriage neither wanted. Coughlin does not shy away from making her hero self-centered and arrogant.

Awards

• 1999 RITA® in the Short Historical category.