The 15 Best Relationship Contracts in Historical Romance

In 1885, Jo Smith knows how lucky she is to be a lesbian in a lavender marriage with a man who loves and respects her. It is simply hard to remember that now that her husband’s paramour is pregnant. The least Jo can do is find her a doctor to help her pregnancy and, after a particularly bad first introduction, Dr. Emily Clarke agrees to see an unmarried patient for the opportunity to apologize and develop a friendship with Jo. As a countryside doctor, Emily never had the time to get to know London’s sapphic social scene, but she longs to develop her friendship with the irresistible Jo. The doctor might give Jo the chance to accept the extension of her family and also welcome a new kind of love into her heart.

Former military man Thaddeus may not want to be a duke, but he is determined to fulfill his obligation, including finding a wife and producing an heir. He wants a perfect, polite duchess, and he thinks he’s found one in Lady Jane Capel; instead, he ends up in a compromising position with Lady Jane’s sister, Lavinia. She is rebellious, loud, beautiful, and sure to cause Thad trouble, but he will marry her to save her reputation. Although Lavinia resists the match, she relents to help facilitate her sister’s marriage to her own true love. Thad and Lavinia may not have planned to marry, but they draft a mutually beneficial marriage contract: Thad and Lavinia will work on conceiving an heir and when they are done, Lavinia will have her freedom…if feelings don’t muddle things first.

Tabitha is a bluestocking in search of a husband. After all, the all-male Sterling Society will only consider admitting a married woman to their collective of the most brilliant minds in London. Finn is a talented gambler whose father has given him a tight timeline to be wed. Although he quickly needs to make a match, he doesn’t know what a brilliant, beautiful woman like Tabitha sees in him. A marriage of convenience will solve both their troubles; but when a night of marital passion is followed by a series of communication blunders, their new partnership snaps. Now, the only thing that will fix Finn and Tabitha is clear and open communication. They are clearly doomed.  

During the 1889 Exposition Universelle, one sapphic bargain sparks a scandalous flame. Manuela’s only willing to sell her parcel of land to the beautiful Cora, Duchess of Sundridge, if she agrees to show her around Paris’s sapphic social scene. Cora is a businesswoman determined to complete a railroad, even if it means risking her reputation—or worse, tempting her heart. Manuela has one last summer to exhibit her paintings and have fun in Paris before she must marry a man she will never love, so she is willing to trade her last piece of financial security for a thrilling world she’s never had access to. As their relationship develops, neither can bear to part, even if it means causing the biggest scandal Paris has ever seen.

Sir Horley Comewithers is a gay man uninterested in his pending marriage, determined to waste away drunk and alone until he must go down the aisle. His best friend, Arabella Tarleton, is determined to stop him by convincing him to marry her instead. Belle is pansexual, aromantic, and coming to terms with the fact that she is unable to fall in love. That doesn’t stop her from wanting a committed and caring partner like Sir Horley. It might take a long, chaos-filled trip to Gretna Green to determine what their marriage will look like, but they have plenty of time to figure it out.

When an artist offers a marriage contract to an equestrienne, a brilliant painting is the least interesting thing to come of their deal. As a sketch artist, rider, and silver-haired woman, Stella is used to being ignored. She certainly doesn’t expect the attention of Teddy, an aspiring painter who asks her to be his muse. Partially paralyzed after a stint of childhood scarlet fever, Teddy has become accustomed to pity and limited options to display the full range of his talents. He knows painting Stella will launch his career, and to prevent her ruination, he is happy to offer his hand in marriage—while longing to capture her heart, too.

At London’s most exclusive investigative agency, King & Co., Tess Townsend, the Dowager Duchess of Wansford, is one of three women tasked with stopping scandalous crimes before word gets out. Tess may be the only one to have walked down the aisle, but her old husband died before they could consummate the marriage. Longing for her first night of pleasure, Tess is ready to find a bit of passion at a masquerade. In an unlikely turn of events, she has a tryst with shipping magnate and recently named Duke of Wansford, Justin Thornton. When all is revealed, Justin proposes a marriage of convenience: he and Tess will avoid the marriage mart, and for three months only, they will also satisfy their carnal appetites. Their marriage may not be in name only for long when a romance develops that cannot be denied.

As a mail-order bride, Regan Carmichael immediately rethinks her choice to marry a stranger when she accidentally shoots her future husband. Dr. Colton Lee wanted a woman to care for his children after the death of his first wife and instead receives a shot in the shoulder and an irresistible, independent woman at the other end of the barrel. Surprisingly, Regan takes on the wilds of Wyoming Territory and her new life with admirable determination. Colton’s heart is starting to beat for Regan even as external threats start to risk their relationship—one he wants to turn into a real marriage.    

As a second son, Bobby longs to participate in the political and financial world designated for infuriating firstborn viscounts like James, who doesn’t care much about his title or the duties that come with it. Every time they are together, they argue, but that doesn’t stop their cousins from setting them up. Beth and Gwen hope that if Bobby and James get along, they might just agree to marry them. Then Beth and Gwen and Bobby and James could be in their separate homosexual relationships in dual lavender marriages. The Mischief & Matchmaking duology contains so many relationship contracts, it is hard to keep count! But book 2 really seals the deal.

To register for her dream ambulance course, Naomi Kwan claims to be engaged to Liu Ji Kai, a man she just met, to secure the required male signature on the enrollment form. Kai wasn’t expecting to fall into a fake relationship on his way back to Wedgeford, but since it’s with the woman he was betrothed to as a child, he doesn’t need to know the details—especially since he is planning to make impeccable pottery, commit fraud, and flee England soon. In a difficult world where fake things are real and real things are fake, Kai and Naomi must decide what it means to be comfortable inside someone else’s lie.

When a British member of Parliament protects a Mexican heiress from a dangerous nobleman through marriage, they both get more than they bargained for. Ana María is the Luna familia’s perfect daughter, ready to maintain her reputation in London while seeking refuge from the French occupation of Mexico with her sisters. With her first taste of freedom, she catches the eye of the taciturn abolitionist politician Gideon Fox. Although he is determined to ignore Ana María’s stunning impression, his plans are dashed when she becomes the target of a nobleman with bad intentions. Gideon may have proposed to Ana María for her protection, but their chemistry cannot be denied, even if it irrevocably changes them both.

Katherine only went to her fiancé’s office to iron out their wedding details. She was infuriated to learn Preston rejected the engagement their fathers arranged for them, wasting a year of her coming out. He is a Gilded Age business tycoon set against taking a bride, not even a charismatic, detail-oriented woman like Katherine. That is until they accidentally hook up at an illicit New York City masquerade. Although Katherine and Preston are determined not to marry, that doesn’t mean they can’t have fun with a passionate tryst in the meantime. But can they resist wedded bliss when it turns out they are well-suited, and their fathers were correct?

Ravenna is a rebellious heiress who disguised herself as a man to avoid marriage, boarding a ship as a crewmember and making a quick livelihood gambling in Antigua as a highborn son. She never expected to run into her presumed-dead childhood betrothed in a smoky gambling hall, or for him to uncover her identity, compromise her reputation, and offer his hand in marriage. As a child, Lord Courtland Chase’s stepmother faked his death, forcing him out of England until the estate tracked him down as the next duke. Although Courtland doesn’t plan on keeping the title or his beautiful wife for long, he will return to England to settle his affairs, grant his wife a divorce, and go back to his life in Antigua. Ravenna will just have to do her best to convince the love of her life to stay.

Minerva Highwood needs a ride to Scotland if she wants to present her research at an important paleontology conference. She knows just the man to get her there: Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne. He may be a rake, but Colin won’t let Minerva get accosted on her way to her conference, so he reluctantly agrees to fake an elopement and travel with her. On their trip, Colin finds it hard to resist Minerva’s intelligence, charm, and unique beauty. Falling in love on a weeklong road trip may just be what they both needed all along.