The Duke's Practical Bride (Waterloo Hearts #1)

A practical widow. A scarred duke. A marriage neither of them can afford to refuse.

Margaret Ellison has kept Waterloo House—and the twenty-six former soldiers who depend upon it—running with careful accounts, borrowed coal, and sheer determination.

But when a powerful trustee announces that the refuge will close before winter, competence is no longer enough. Margaret needs legal authority.

Henry Blackwood, the newly inherited Duke of Rothbury, has returned from Waterloo with scars, a damaged knee, and a title that may soon be challenged. He wants to protect his aunt’s legacy, but the trust contains one impossible condition:

Only his wife can serve beside him and stop the closure.

Their marriage of convenience comes with strict terms. Margaret will keep her independence. Henry will not mistake protection for control. They will share a roof, defend the House together, and expect nothing more from one another.

Desire was never part of the agreement.

But

forced proximity

has a way of revealing what polite distance conceals. Margaret sees the honorable man beneath Henry’s rank and scars. Henry discovers that the competent widow who contradicts him at every turn is the first person he has ever wanted as an equal.

As scandal threatens his title and their

found family

faces eviction, they must prove that Waterloo House is worth saving—and that a marriage built for practical reasons can become something neither of them dared to ask for.

Their vows may have begun as a bargain. Their future must be chosen together.