I really, really liked this book. I'm a sucker for a downtrodden heroine who blossoms after marriage to the right man. The contrasting personalities of the hero(Gerard) & heroine(Katherine)reminded me a bit of "My Lady Notorious", in that he was an extrovert, with a naturally sunny and humorous way about him(although he was responsible and serious when the situation called for it) and she was introverted and a bit sad and unsure of herself. It was fun to see him put himself out to try to please her. I liked it that they were honest with each other and didn't let misunderstandings fester. I can't wait to read the other books in this series about Gerard's brothers, Edward and Charles.

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This opens with Gerard planning on going to Bath to hunt the blackmailer. Before he can leave London, Katherine proposes marriage. Katherine much older than her husband has died and instead of being able to enjoy being a widow (this was not a happy marriage), she is being pressured to marry again by Lucien, her deceased spouse's nephew. Katherine was left a large sum of money by her father when he died and in addition, Lucien owes her money. Before he died, the dead spouse borrowed money and didn't pay it back. Lucien is also super conservative and restrictive. Gerard decides to take her up on offer and marry. He needs a wealthy wife in case he loses his inheritance (d/t his father's scandal- he may have been married before when he was super young).
What starts out as a marriage of convenience, turns into much more. Kate is able to grow her confidence and come out of her shell. Her marriage was abusive and her mother is verbally/emotionally abusive to her.
More hints at the blackmailer and Gerard is able to locate more information. Gerard gives all this information to Charlie, who is now responsible for finding out the blackmailer. It's fitting since Charlie is the current duke and has skated by allowing his brothers to do the heavy lifting.

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