Lantern Against the Wind (Novel)

As the eldest daughter of Count Townsend, Elena led an upright life, providing for her impoverished people and caring for her younger siblings. When the wealthy but immoral Count Logan insistently asks for her hand in marriage, she continuously rejects him. Her constant refusals put her land in dire straits. Count Logan pillages what little food they can harvest and terrorizes the territory, pushing Elena into a corner. To protect her people and family, Elena agrees to marry the notorious mercenary Gareth, a man rumored to leave only death in his wake. Gareth, having been orphaned at a tender age, knows little of what having a family entails. Conversely, Elena treasures hers above all else. Now, in a curious twist of fate, their families are to be one and the same. Can these two diametrically opposed people find love and discover what it means to be family? She was his lantern in the dark, and he was the wind that threatened to extinguish her light.