When a lady’s choice lies between love and destruction, what happens next is anyone’s guess.
Miss Penelope Watterson—a wallflower, not by choice—wants revenge on the man who destroyed her adoptive family. For years she has despised the Viscount of Maplecrest, who caused her family’s distress. After being forced to flee London due to multiple scandals, she has been cooling her heels in the Derbyshire countryside, and she’s had enough. It is past time to take back her life and her rightful place in the ton.
Adam Coventry, Viscount Maplecrest, has recently returned to London from a stint in America where he made a fortune importing French brandy through naval blockades and then later solidified that fortune by investing in agriculture—tobacco primarily. Once his estate in Virginia ran like clockwork, he came to England with the intent to pack the rest of his belongings and reside in America permanently, for he wants space between him and the insanity of the Watterson family.
Plans go awry when they both attend a summer ball, where Penelope’s scandalous proposal both disgusts and intrigues Adam. Despite being enemies, desire flares, and forced proximity only enhances those feelings. As long held secrets are revealed, priorities and perceptions slowly change, but wanting revenge has been ingrained into her for far too long, to say nothing of Adam’s intent to shake the dust of England from his heels. If they can’t leave misunderstandings and pride in the past, they might forfeit a love they never knew they needed.