The Beast of Ravencross: Where Shadows Linger, Love Brings the Light (Tales from the Matchmaker’s Society #5)

A fugitive widow. A scarred recluse. A marriage of convenience to defy a ruthless enemy.

Falsely accused and hunted by her late husband’s nephew, Lady Vivienne Aldridge flees London with nothing but terror at her back. A brutal storm shatters her escape—her coach wrecks at the gates of Ravencross Hall, where she collapses into the arms of its enigmatic master.

Damien, Lord Ravencross, is a reclusive sculptor, seared by a fire that left scars on his body and ghosts in his home. He offers Vivienne shelter on two respect his solitude and leave him to his work. Yet the quiet woman who wakes in his house sees what others never do—the restless artist, the patient teacher, the man still capable of fierce, inconvenient hope.

Snowed in and surrounded by whispers, Vivienne finds a forbidden refuge in Damien’s studio. Clay and marble become a language of trust; lessons at the chisel turn into late-night confidences; one unguarded, devastatingly tender kiss makes it impossible to pretend they are strangers bound only by gratitude.

Then danger arrives at the door with a legal warrant to drag Vivienne to an asylum and claim her fortune. With the law twisted against her, Damien offers the only shield he has his name. A marriage of convenience will keep her safe—for now.

But safety is not the same as a future. To win one, a “beast” must believe he is worthy of love, and a hunted woman must claim the life that is rightfully hers. Together, they’ll face the flames of the past—and sculpt a forever no enemy can break.

The Beast of Ravencross is a Gothic-tinged Regency romance with forced proximity, a scarred artist hero, a brave heroine in hiding, and a guaranteed HEA. Expect storms and candlelight, studio lessons and stolen warmth, legal peril, and a marriage that begins as protection and becomes a home.

Heat Steamy open-door (sensual, character-driven intimacy); not erotic.