HaBO: Hero Needs Someone to Annoy His Family

[Artemis Gordon]

This HaBO request is Susan, who wants to track down this historical romance:

I’m looking for a historical romance I read a few years ago. The heroine answers an ad for a position (can’t recall what it was for, maybe a governess?). In reality the hero had placed the ad under false pretenses. He is really looking for a wife and is using the ad to find somebody inappropriate to his family. He decides she’s the one that will really annoy his family. I think he had a falling out with his father (who is a duke?).

I recall that she is the oldest or second oldest of a large family that is orphaned. She and her older brother have gone to London to earn money to send home to the other siblings. The siblings live in the country. The hero marries the heroine and they immediately go to the family estate in the country. Also the hero is betrothed or is almost betrothed to a young woman on a neighboring estate. I think the parents had arranged the betrothal. He doesn’t want to marry this girl (she’s very young); hence the plot to thwart the engagement by showing up already married.

They show up at the estate, shocking his family. His wife, the heroine, has stayed in her unfashionable clothing on purpose. He really wants to annoy his family. At some point her goodness ends up bringing the family together. She is starting to fall in love and hates the deception. She finally leaves the estate to return to her siblings. The hero has no idea where she has gone. The only thing he knows is where her brother lives in London. He finds the brother and is able to track her down in the country. Things end on a happy note.

I thought this was a Mary Balogh’s The Ideal Wife. I’m reading that right now and it definitely is not the book I’m looking for, although there are some similarities. I’ve checked other Balogh books and don’t see anything. I can’t find it in the other authors I usually read. Can the bitchery help me out?

Let’s HaBO!

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