The Duke Needed a Scandal. She Had a Perfectly Respectable Proposal.

The duke wants a scandal to escape an unwanted match. Clara Bennett offers a perfectly respectable alternative: he could become sincerely useful to people his family would rather overlook. First, however, the woman he is expected to marry deserves a say in the plan. What begins as an arrangement among three people soon involves sewing rooms, subscriptions, paid work, and expectations that cannot simply disappear when the social inconvenience has served its purpose. Clara is used to being thanked for accepting dependence. Julian is used to making promises that other people quietly turn into work. Neither is prepared for how closely the other will examine those habits. This original historical romance combines social comedy, practical kindness, and a poor companion's determination to keep a life of her own. Attraction develops through banter and disagreement, while the people around the couple insist on being treated as participants rather than scenery. A story from The Poor Relation about class, accountability, and keeping a promise after its original advantage has gone.