Diana Somerville never imagined that her first Season would end so disastrously or ruin her reputation so completely. And while her family is appalled that the rakehell who compromised her, Mr. George Wright, refuses to come up to scratch at the altar, Diana is relieved. She wants nothing to do with the Wrights, certainly nothing that will end in matrimony; which is exactly what she tells Stephen Wright, Viscount of Endicott, George's older half-brother, when he proposes to do the honorable thing and marry her himself!

But She Wanted His Love

Stephen is accustomed to paying for George's sins, though not precisely in such hard-struck or permanent coin. Still, Diana's refusal is a shocking turn of events. With the help of her family, he convinces the headstrong miss to agree to a sham engagement, promising that she can cry off after a suitable length of time. Yet the more time he spends in the lovely Diana's company, the more certain he is that he truly wants her hand in marriage; as well as her spirited heart.