title: An Officer's Alliance
author: Hamilton, Violet
description: From the moment Ariel first looked into the hot, smouldering eyes of Captain Ian Montague, she knew he was exactly the sort of hell-raising scoundrel she most abhorred. So when she was unwittingly compromised through his disreputable pursuits, she was mortified to find herself forced to marry him. Her only comfort was that as Montague's wife, it was easier for her to infiltrate the salons of London, ferreting out the information so vitally important to Castlereagh, the British Foreign Secretary. Even Montague's maddening sense of humor -- and sense of passion -- was endurable if it helped the British cause.
  
  At first, the irony of it all had amused Montague. That he, a rake with decidedly decadent habits, should at last be shackled to a cold, virginal prude like Ariel Frazier. He found it somewhat less amusing when Ariel showed unexpected spirit in turning him away from her bed. He was beginning to suspect there was hidden fire in this Ice Queen he had married. And Montague knew just how to melt a woman's reserve and break down her every defense.
  