Ondine had a noose around her neck as she traveled in a cart to be hung. But Ondine promised herself she wouldn't scream. She was appalled by the amount of people who had crowded the streets to watch a hanging. Ondine was not the common woman she said she was when she joined the group of poor and homeless in the forest. She was dressed in rags but she had the manners of a lady born and bred. She was to be killed for struggling to eat. Ondine and Old Thomas and many other had and will share the same fate. There was one chance Ondine would not be hanged and that is if someone stepped forward and agreed to marry her. Then Warwick came forward and not only said he would marry he he did so right then. Ondine had witnessed her father’s murder and then ran for her life. All Ondine wanted to do was clear her father’s name. Warwick wants Ondine to be bait to catch the person who murdered his first wife. There is attraction between Ondine and Warwick and it grows. Ondine had been the Duchess of Rochester before she ran for her life. It was her jealous relatives who killed her father as they wanted his lands. At first Warwick nor Ondine confided in each other but eventually they did.
I really enjoyed this story. I felt it had a good plot and story. There was a lot to this story: betrayal, murder fleeing for one's life hangings, hunger, murder, intrigue, secrets, adventure and so much more. I liked how Ondine and Warwick’s feelings grew. I think they made a great couple she was strong enough to handle Warwick. Especially as Ondine as she had been raised to be a lady and had been a Duchess. The story had me hooked from beginning to end. I was also glad Warwick agreed to marry Ondine so she didn’t have to die. Even though Warwick had his own reasons for marrying Ondine. I hated that the homeless and poor were killed for trying to get food to eat to prevent from starving. I was glad the homeless and poor had accepted Ondine so easily into their group. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

I was granted this ARC from Netgalley. Sadly to say this was not the book for me. This is a reprint of a novel that I would wager was written late 80"s early 90"s. The reader can tell this by the vibe it gives off. While I grew up reading these kinds of novels for some reason this did not appeal to me. The beginning of the book had me confused thinking "is this the right book?" I'm not saying that the story is bad, it just wasn't the right story for me.