"Orphaned and raised by her uncle, the feisty sixteen-year-old Chelynne resloves to show her gratitude by marrying the man of her uncle's choice. Bracing herself for a graying, sickly noble, the last man she expects for a husband is the dashing future Earl of Bryant, Chadwick Hawthorne. Suddenly being a loving wife doesn't seem too hard a task. But he spurns her affection and remians her husband only in name, never in deed. Tormented by unfinished business from his past and an uprising threatening he land, Chad resolves to keep his distance from everyone, including his young wife." -- from publisher.