Love posed a strange threat. Diane was shocked when she returned to her small hometown. An evil rumor that the village was cursed had spread like wildfire—a rumor that was readily accepted after three men were mysteriously murdered. Every day more and more people fled ... and their land was quickly bought up by the Countess Marchand. Diane was sure the woman was somehow responsible for the panic, yet she couldn't prove it ... until she met the countess' disarmingly handsome nephew, a man who desperately wanted Diane's love—and her silence.