A Marquess’ Forbidden Desire by Lucinda Nelson

Behind Masks and false identities, they find their undeniable match. But when the masks fall, hearts will break.
When Lady Marianne Purcell visits Bath for a holiday to escape her sister’s temper and her mother’s scheming, she finds herself at a country fair. Masked and eager to pretend to be someone she’s not, she meets a gentleman who also disguises his identity. Intrigued and liberated by rouse, she meets the man at the fair every evening for three nights. They dance. They laugh. They kiss. And they fall in love.
When they part ways at the end of their three nights together, she thinks she is leaving behind a shy townsman and returns to Mayfair with a sore heart. But when her sister introduces her newfound fiancé, Marianne soon realizes that she made a grave mistake.
The masked man had not been a townsman. The masked man was Lord Alexander Redmond, the Marquess of Riversdale. And her cruel sister’s fiancé.
With the help of her beloved friend, can Marianne persuade Alexander that love prevails over duty? And in the face of his father’s expectations, can Alexander prioritize his happiness over his fear of disappointing his father? Being so tender-hearted, will Marianne put her conniving sister’s materialistic desires over her own heart?
Without their masks, Alexander and Marianne are different people. As they try to navigate the minefield of expectation and duty that surrounds them, will the love they felt at the country fair reign victoriously? Only time will tell.