by Mary Balogh
First published 2011
Lady Angeline Dudley wants an ordinary gentleman for a husband, not the wild rakes her family produces. When Edward Ailsbury, the new Earl of Heyward, rescues her from a scoundrel's advances with perfect civility, she believes she has found her match. Edward has different plans. He intends to marry his steadfast companion, a woman who shares his values of loyalty and decorum. Arriving in London to take his seat in the House of Lords, he encounters Angeline, whose bright fashion and spirited behavior threaten his orderly existence. A stolen moonlight kiss awakens unexpected desire in the controlled earl. Being a gentleman, Edward proposes marriage after compromising her reputation. Angeline recognizes his offer stems from duty rather than love, but she cannot resist the passion between them. She believes Edward's rigid conventions will dissolve in private, where a proper wife can transform into her husband's secret mistress when desire takes control.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, adult-fiction, historical-romance, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity
Period: 19th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press