Just in time for Valentine''s Day, from
New York
Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes yet another classic
historical tale that sizzles with romance and unforgettable drama.
Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a
gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that
pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds
station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social
advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the
Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family,
Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left
her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only
too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.
Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel
his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry
her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is
accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an
ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having
no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement
in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic,
each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs
while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.
So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets,
deception, and the trials of love-a story in which very little is
as it seems.
