The Champion by Heather Grothaus

England 1076. An era of kings and their loyal knights, of grand castles and courts, and of passions too bold to be denied. Brought to life with power and grace, this is the story of a nobleman in need of a wife…and the woman who offers him the love of a lifetime.

Nicholas FitzTodd, Baron of Crane, has little interest in marriage—the privileges of rank are too many and too pleasurable. But when the bride he finally chooses refuses him, he takes out his frustration in wine and women. Simone DuRoche is but another lovely temptation, until a moment of indiscretion results in a hasty wedding. Nick is furious—Simone may be beautiful, but she is nearly penniless and rumored to be mad.

Simone hardly expects her reluctant husband to believe that her young brother’s ghost has followed her to England—or that she suspects his death was murder. Marriage to the fierce, guarded Nicholas is difficult enough. But when she learns the truth behind her brother’s death, a dangerous family secret threatens the fragile peace she and Nicholas have achieved, and she must risk everything she holds dear to prove that her love is worth fighting for.