Lady Beverly has never forgotten the promise her husband made to her when they married. He promised her as many children as she wanted because she’d grown up a lonely, only child. The return of her husband from his diplomatic duties overseas is going to provide her with the opportunity to conceive this child—except he has been avoiding their bed.
Lord Christopher Fenwicke, Viscount Huddleston, returned from Afghanistan minus a good portion of his left leg. The pain he lived with was alleviated only with the opium he took daily. And while it dulled the pain, it would never give him the ability to do the things he used to love doing. But more than that, the thing that frustrated and upset him the most, was the fact that he hadn’t been able to make love to his wife since his return. Telling this to his wife was, for him, the lowest point in his life because he couldn’t explain what had caused it, and the expert he consulted could give him no hope for a cure.
Beverly tries to think of what could be causing this affliction, and when she hits upon what she believes the cause to be, she has to then try to convince her husband to let her help him. Christopher would try anything if it would give him back his passion for living again, and most especially the ability to make good on that promise he made to the wife he adored.