The Counterfeit Betrothal

The Counterfeit Betrothal is a historical romance by the English writer Mary Balogh, published in 1987. It is set in Regency England.

Lady Sophia Bryant does not intend to marry at all, but her parents have been estranged from each other for some fourteen years, and her strongest wish is to see them brought back together. Her plan is to announce a betrothal, which, even if it is not real, would oblige her mother and father to be in the same room and to take an interest in her again. Lord Francis Sutton suits the purpose exactly: he is handsome, he has a reputation as a rake, and he is generally agreeable to games of this kind, particularly when there is nothing at stake for him. What Sophia has not allowed for is that her own heart is the part of the arrangement she cannot control. The novel is set in the society of the period, where a betrothal is a matter of public consequence rather than a private understanding.

Balogh wrote a large number of Regency romances, and this is one of her earlier books.