Bride for a champion

I command you to marry the bearer of this letter ... Lady Alice Martinswood has no choice but to obey her dead father's final instruction. His choice is his champion, the mercenary Simon Paton, still haunted by the bloody sack of Constantinople. On their wedding night, Simon mistakes Alice's tears of joy for those of anguish. Swearing not to hurt her again, he decides he must not touch her - a promise he finds impossible to keep, especially when...