She was trading one heartache for another

Just when Iseult was getting over her broken affair with a Paris artist, she found herself facing marriage to Nicholas Veryan. He didn't love her; the marriage would only be to secure a stepmother for his little son, Tim.

On the one hand, Iseult couldn't bear to see the boy unhappy. On the other, could she bear the kind of marriage Nicholas had in mind--a real one?

And why did Nicholas want to marry her, anyway, when he was so clearly involved with Joanna Trethowyn?