Sir Nicholas needs to wed a rich bride in order to maintain the keep which he won as a Norman mercenary. He sends out a message to all available ladies in the land to come to his keep and he will pick his new bride. This is definitely an original idea in historical romance and I didn't have a problem with it at first.

Upon entering the keep, Riona begins to observe what is going on around her and cannot guess as to what this Sir Nicholas must be like. She picks him out in the courtyard and is the only one to recognize him. Other women who showed up for this event treat him as a servant and show their true nature to him as they demand he help with trunks, etc.

This was the best scene in the whole book and it occurred at the beginning. I felt the author would return to that type of interaction between Sir Nicholas and Riona but she never quite gets there. I also felt Riona was far too willing to see him married to another knowing she could never have him to herself. ( )