What happens in London after midnight doesn't always remain a secret.
Baldwin Benedict Loverly, Duke of Broadmoor, wants nothing to do with society in general or women specifically. His stint in the military during the war broke him in mind and spirit. Now he can barely leave his townhouse without suffering from crushing bouts of fear and anxiety, but when he meets an unconventional woman who planned his aging aunt’s birthday celebration, he might strive to overcome his challenges.
Outgoing and sunny Miss Georgianna Abernathy, step-daughter of the Earl of Dirkenstead knows how people want to celebrate. When a pair of valuable emerald and diamond earbobs, directly off the ears of one of the beau monde’s popular duchesses, is found inside a cake she ordered, she panics. With scandal looming, she barely hides the jewelry in her skirts before the handsome duke comes upon her and makes her yearn for dreams she’d let go.
Once he temporarily subdues the alleged thief, the situation forces him to forget about his woes. Though he makes it his mission to prove her innocence, something about the story niggles at him. Discovered in a compromising situation, he puts forth the story of their engagement to lend her protection, and Georgianna objects—strenuously—which deepens the mystery surrounding her, but as they give into passion during the investigation, life grows more complicated. Unless they can find the real thief, both of them might be arrested with no chance for the romance neither of them expected to find.