From the back cover:

She would give him her hand, but never her heart.

Beth Armitage had the life she wanted. Her work as a teacher gave her the independence she always sought and a life free from the shackles of matrimony. Yet after a harrowing meeting with the Duke of Belcraven, Beth found herself caught in a web of aristocratic power - and engaged to marry his rakish heir, Lucien de Vaux, Marquess of Arden! She was determined to despise her betrothed, but when Arden decided to seduce her, she needed all of her strength to keep from surrendering her heart.

He would marry, but never love.

Forced into a marriage with a commoner to secure his inheritance, Lord Arden despised the coy bluestocking who would share his bed. Furious at her defiance and her challenges to his authority, he resolved to control her. But soon her wit and her charms threatened his very will - and his heart....