After her brother's and her fiancΓ©'s deaths during the war, Miss Isobel Carington dedicates her time to establishing a charity for widows and orphans. Society tolerates her and considers her on the shelf with slim chances of marrying. Those opinions drastically change when an anonymous bet is placed at White's that she will marry Sterling Sinclair, one of the infamous Sinclairs, newly arrived from Scotland. Isobel believes she can turn the bet into an advantage for her charity and plays along.
Their father has tossed Sterling Sinclair, the Marquess of Blackburn, out of Scotland with his siblings. The Sinclair's are known far and wide as the Seven Deadly Sins because of their wild ways. Disgusted with his children's behavior, he denies them any funds until they all redeem themselves and prove they are worthy of the Sinclair name. Sterling, the eldest, plans his redemption with the marriage of an upstanding and staid miss. The bet he anonymously places will provide him with a fortune.
These two vastly mismatched people provide society with vast entertainment. Bets are placed and the entire populace tries to manipulate the couple. The courtship romp is thrilling and exciting -- until Isobel loses her heart to Sterling. The question then becomes: can Sterling give his heart to Isobel?
TO SIN WITH A STRANGER begins the Seven Deadly Sins series featuring the Sinclair brothers and sisters. The Deadly Sins should not be this much fun. Sterling, personifying greed, meets his opposite as Isobel is controlled and self- possessed. Ms. Caskie gives an added treat by putting the fascinating Elgin Marble history into the plot.
The Sinclairs, one of the oldest, wealthiest and revered
noble families in all of Scotland, spawned seven children
that over the years have become complete embarrassments to
the family name. They enjoy a good time, too well, know no
boundaries and scandal always splashes wildly in their
wake.
When the children were young and left to their own devices,
shortly after their mother died and their father, the duke,
retreated to his bottle, Society quietly referred to the
spoiled, ill-behaved Sinclairs as the Seven Deadly Sins.
But though the words were only whispered, the Sinclair
children often overheard, and it stung.
After seeing his younger brothers and sisters in tears too
many times, the eldest of the headstrong Sinclair children
vowed never to let Societyβs cruel labels hurt them again.
And so, he created a game to help them cope. He divided the
seven sins between them all (which wasn't really so hard to
do given their natural proclivities) and advised his
brothers and sisters to take their assignments to heart and
begin behaving in public as each of their particular sins
dictated.
Soon, those in society didn't bother to whisper their
taunts anymore. But it didn't matter. No tears were ever
shed again. The Sinclair children had removed the power
from the words by claiming the sins for themselves.
But now the Sinclairs have all reached the age of majority
and are no longer playing the game. Haven't for years. And
yet, they each unwittingly embody one of the seven deadly
sins: Lachlan (lust), Grant (excess/gluttony), Sterling
(greed), Siusan (sloth/laziness), Killian (anger/wrath),
Ivy (envy), and Priscilla (pride).
Everything, however, is about to change for the seven
Sinclairs. Their aged father (who they believe must be
going mad) has demanded that each of his wayward children
change his or her ways and become a respected member of
Societyβwhich, of course, includes proper marriage. He
informs them that carriages await just outside to
immediately transport the seven of them from Scotland to
London, where no one knows their wicked history.
Being a generous man, and fully aware that he is to blame
for allowing their excesses, he will give them a small
allowance but he will not give them a shilling more, everβ
until each of his sons and daughters independently prove
themselves worthy of the Sinclair name and position.
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