Noblewomen are little more than chattel during the middle Ages. Judith Revedoune certainly feels this way as her abusive
father plans to marry her off as brood mare to replace his dead sons with grandsons from her. She is highly educated and had planned to be prioress, an estate manager for the church but her wishes are brutally ignored and she is wed to Gavin Montgomery, oldest son of a prosperous family. Gavin has had doubts of his own about this union, marrying only because the woman he loves has been given to someone else and will not run away with him. Even passion in the bedchambers with Judith will not melt the hurts Gavin has over his first love, a woman who will do anything to keep him loyal to her alone. Even finding a measure of peace in a safe home will not erase Judith’s worry over her
mother left in her
father’s less than tender care, or her fear of losing the one person she is coming to depend on, Gavin. When Judith learns her mother has been kidnapped, she hatches a plan she hopes will save her mother, protect her husband, and teach Gavin she is worthy of being treated as an equal. If she fails, Gavin will hate her forever. If she succeeds, she might accomplish what few women in the sixteenth century do. She will have married for love.
This book is part of the medieval Montgomery series but stands alone well. The misunderstandings between characters are delicious. A fun read at 375+ pages.