The last thing newly-dubbed knight Sir Kenneth MacKenzie desires is a wife. In fact, what he both desires and needs is a little solitude and privacy to restore his newly inherited Cuidrach Castle to its former glory. His new social position demands he behave with chivalry and hospitality, even though there is a beautiful and shapely woman claiming to be his wife, living in his home. She has no right to be trespassing in his castle and stealing his name and he has every intention of forcing this beautiful woman out, hospitality be damned!Lady Mariota Macnicol has been burned by love before and she has no intention of letting it happen again. She gave her heart to a golden-tongued man who beguiled her so completely that she sacrificed her dowry, her body, and her good name. Rather than honor that, he died in his mistress's arms and, through some evil machinations, Mariota was branded his murderess. So Mariota took to Cuidrach Castle with a little white lie to keep her location a secret. But Kenneth is unlike any nobleman Mariota has ever encountered...Before long, this man who craved solitude will discover a desire he never thought possible for the stunning and spirited woman passing herself off as his wife. And this "murderess" who no longer believes in love will find a love deeper and more enduring than any she ever thought possible.