Thane Parker, Earl of Mansfield, is home from the war and
prepared to do his duty to family name and estates. His
guardianship of the crippled teenage daughter of a dead
friend has a scandal brewing that can be easily quelled if
he takes a bride. Scandal, though, is of little importance
when compared to his secret mission for crown and country. A
serial killer who is on the loose appears to be of noble
birth. He is so focused on tracking down the villain he has
little time for wife hunting.
Miss Lindsey Crompton, daughter of a spectacularly
successful merchant, is determined to make her own way in
the world unencumbered by a husband or society's strictures.
Her most cherished dream is to become a private detective
and set up a discreet agency focused on solving mysteries
for highborn clients. This ambition is in direct
opposition to her mother's goal to use Lindsey's
stupendous dowry to buy the family a connection with a
titled family. After her failure with Lindsey's elder
sister, her mother will stop at nothing to succeed in
marrying Lindsey off to the vile Lord Wrayford, heir to the
Duke of Sylvester. Lindsey's only hope is to use her
sleuthing skills to find proof of Lord Wrayford's perfidy
and to spy out something that makes him undesirable and
unworthy in even her mother's eyes.
With each bent on their own mission, it is only a matter of
time before Thane's path crosses with Lindsey's. Despite
Thane's focus on trailing a killer, he is far from
immune to Lindsey's luscious form and challenging
personality. For her part, Lindsey must put aside her body's
traitorous response to Thane's touch when clues begin to
fall into place that point to Thane as the serial killer
stalking the maids of London.
NEVER TRUST A ROGUE is Olivia Drake's second book in the
Heiress of London series.
The wealthiest heiress of the season, Miss Lindsey Crompton
finds detective work far more fascinating than social
engagements—at least until she meets Thane Parker, the Earl
of Mansfield. Thane is a paradox: a war hero and a cad, a
wicked scoundrel and an indulgent guardian of his young
ward. When Lindsey sneaks into his house to investigate his
role in a series of murders, he blackmails her into a betrothal.
Thane has a secret life he keeps hidden from everyone,
especially the infernally curious—and curiously
alluring—Miss Crompton. Working with the Bow Street Runners,
Thane is tracking a killer who may be one of Lindsey’s
suitors. Even if their engagement is a ruse, the heat
between Thane and Lindsey is undeniably real. And with a
murderer on the loose, desire has never been so dangerous…