Her sister's mysterious disappearance and rumors of the gruesome "Shoreditch Slasher" filled violet-eyed Linnet Hamilton with terror and foreboding. But to carry out the wish of her father and discover her heritage, she moved to her native England and to Ashwood, her orphaned niece's home. From the moment she arrived, Sean Carlisle, steward of the estate, seemed able to read Linnet's every thought. Even as Mercy's grandmother tried to get rid of them, he insisted they stay. Was it because only Mercy stood between him and a sinister dream of possessing Ashwood? Or was there another reason, a reason that might forever link Linnet, a mere coachman's daughter, with Sean, Lord of the Manor, the man she was beginning to believe she loved?