<I>No man has ever wanted her for herself</I><P>When she arrives at Beresford Abbey, orphan Mary Wilder's hopes of finding a place to belong are dashed when she meets Bane Beresford, the enigmatic earl. He is as remote as the ghosts that supposedly haunt the Abbey?and, like its crumbling walls, her dreams fall apart.<P>Occasionally she sees a different, more caring man behind the facade, so is she foolish to long for a happy home?and a family? His proposal is for a marriage of convenience, but his touch has awakened within her a fervent and forbidden longing?.