AN UNEQUAL MATCH

Verena was lost in the cruel world of poverty. It was a sad, hopeless place where she endured beatings from her father while he vigilantly protected her virtue. The horrible gambling man had an ace up his sleeve though and kept her pure for one purpose only -- to sell her in marriage. Well blackmail the Marquis of Stafford into marrying her! How her father managed to choose a man that was his opposite was just luck. Not that the marquis is happy about the marriage. No, he abandons the child-bride (only 16) the morning after the wedding and is gone for two years. I didn't like him much for that reason. Verena was thrown to the wolves but made out well! The marquis's aunt assisted in making her a diamond of the first water and she is loved and courted by many. But can she win her husband's love? Her loyalty to him is commendable even if Stafford didn't deserve it. But he did take her from the squalor she called home and provided her a better life. In the end, Stafford does come to see her as the jewel he desires and loves. Very nice reading!