This Wicked Gift

William White wanted Lavinia Spencer the first time he saw her working in her father’s lending library. When her father becomes ill and the family finances take a turn for the worse, he realizes that necessity might force her to marry someone else—an unacceptable future, as that would mean he could never have her. He wants her forever, but on his salary that’s outside the realm of possibility. Instead, he’s willing to settle for a bare—in fact, one might say a naked—minimum. But when he sets his plan in action, he discovers that finances or no finances, there are some things money just can’t buy. That’s not going to stop him from trying to purchase them.