Masquerade — Gabrielle Bisset

Annelisa Fielding has had the blessings of wealth her entire life, thanks to her industrialist father. However, there is one thing even he can't give her: a title. So he arranges a marriage between his daughter and the Earl of Swindon, Thornton Sutcliffe. As long as his future bride is a virgin, the Earl will tolerate the marrying down because in return for taking Annelisa as his wife, her father will pay off his debts. Everyone wins, as far as the men are concerned, but Annelisa wants more out of marriage than a title and is willing to wait. But time is running out. If she doesn't find some way out of the marriage and fast, in one month she'll become Lady Annelisa Sutcliffe. The solution to her problem? Count Nikolai Shetkolov, a diplomat in the service of the Tsar and stationed in England. Single, powerful, and sexier than any man Annelisa has ever laid eyes on, Nikolai is the perfect choice to help a young lady lose the one thing her odious future husband prizes most. But Annelisa will have to watch out or she may get more than she bargained for with Nikolai.