Forbidden (The Company of Rogues Series, Book 4)

She remembered Miss Emma Mallory as a firm but kindly autocrat, and a staunch believer in women's rights. Surely Miss Mallory would help her.
If Serena could reach her.

Especially one that takes no pleasure in bed-work!"
His treatment of her had changed from that point on. For the first few years of the marriage, he had merely been rough and careless of her feelings. After the doctor's verdict, however, he had started to demand more, to demand services that went far beyond her marital duties.
If Serena could bear children, she might remarry for that joy, but since she could not, she would never again enter such a state of legalized bondage.
But if she was penniless, what was she to do

Barren. She was barren. As if it were yesterday, she remembered the doctor making that pronouncement like a hanging judge. And she remembered Matthew's rage.