Bespectacled bluestocking Patience Harrington's failure as
a debutante happens when her plain speaking and naïveté
lands her in one misunderstanding after another. Banished
from London by her father until the latest rumors die down,
Patience arrives at Blackfield Castle to aid in cataloging
the art treasures. She worries that her last misdeed will
affect her father's position at the museum. Patience plans
to redeem herself by completing the work in an excellent
and timely manner. Interfering with her plans are the
rumors of monsters surrounding the castle and the dark Lord
who presides over the castle.
Thomas Ashe, the tenth Viscount of Blackfield, reluctantly
allows his Aunt Caroline to host appraisers for her latest
donation to the British museum. Her timing could not be
worse as his mysterious project is at a critical point.
Always on the lookout for spies and saboteurs, Thomas
notices an increase in questionable activities and
suspicious accidents. He notes Patience's half-French
ancestry and dubious reputation, so Thomas turns on the
charm and engages in seduction.
Patience notices Thomas' transformation from tormentor to
charmer but does not question the change. Instead, she
revels in his attention. For the first time since her
undeserved reputation, Patience feels special and
cherished. But those feelings come crashing down when
reality invades.
Ms. Mallory pens a charming romance filled with Gothic
overtones -- the dark, somber castle inhabited by a brooding
lord and a heroine determined to reveal the truth behind
the strange noises and peculiar events.
Thomas Ashe, the brooding Viscount Blackfield, is a man any
lady would shun. But Patience Harrington, try as she might,
has never been a proper lady. Her bumbled London season
left her with no marital prospects and no recourse but to
accept her father's invitation to travel to gloomy
Blackfield Castle. Surely, spending a few nights in the
presence of priceless antiques and a devilish viscount
can't be as bad as facing the ton gossip.
Focused solely on his secret government project, Thomas
cares little for the valuable antiques he's recently
inherited. The troublesome young woman who has come to
assess them, however, stirs his senses in every way.
Patience is a distraction Thomas can ill afford -- a
beautiful temptation that makes him ache with desire. For a
spy is threatening to destroy all he has built, and
Patience is hiding something. With so much at stake, Thomas
must do whatever it takes to seduce the truth from
Patience's lips before lives -- and his own heart -- are
lost.
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