from our review:On the eve before her wedding, a young woman is trying to savor her last moments of freedom. She is about to be trapped in a marriage that she knows will be a painful one; Rayburn is an unkind man much older than her, and she has the feeling that he cannot be trusted. During her respite, she runs into a young man sleeping in the stables. The connection is immediate and bittersweet. Catherine feels even more suffocated by the bonds that hold her to Rayburn, and the young man is left dreaming of a girl he knows he can never have.Catherine Rayburn is a spy. Her husband is a Welsh sympathizer who is soon executed for treason based on information she conveyed, and she is horrified by the king’s reaction to her assistance: she will either marry William FitzAlan, an influential warrior, or she will be taken to the Tower of London for treason. She is furious at being immediately trapped into another political marriage. When she meets her new husband he is a stranger to her, but he definitely recognizes her: they shared an unforgettable night many years ago. Catherine has haunted his dreams since that night, and he is eager to begin a life with her.I thought this premise was cute and I wanted to see how he’d win her over and eventually reveal who he was. He seemed sweet enough that one night, so I expected it to be satisfyingly cheesy. Unfortunately, while it is obvious at once that he is a good and decent man, he is a complete numbskull in every other respect. Little did I know his strategy would be to sex her into affection and submission.