Violet Fire by Jo Goodman

— 1746, England and Virginia Colony —
Wrongly accused of murdering her abusive step-father, Shannon Kilmartin never expected to leave Newgate prison until she’s sold as an indentured servant to work as a governess in the Virginia Colony.

Brandon Fleming never escaped the memory of the beautiful raven-haired woman he met in Cambridge. He was so captivated that upon returning to the Tidewater Plantation in the Virginia Colony, he married Aurora because she held an uncanny resemblance to that raven-haired beauty. But it was in appearance, only. Now, abandoned by Aurora and left to raise a child on his own, Brandon faces a lonely future and needs a governess for his daughter.

When Shannon arrives in Tidewater, she’s immediately mistaken for the wayward Aurora and is not greeted with enthusiasm by anyone except Brandon’s daughter. Brandon recognizes Shannon as the young girl who captivated him four years prior and though he tries to resist, cannot deny the attraction he feels.

Then Brandon’s missing wife’s parents arrive to visit, forcing Shannon to play the role of Brandon’s wife, which soon leads to mutual attraction. But, the love growing between them is soon tested when Aurora returns with her lover and a shocking secret.