Josette Marsden’s mission is to educate impoverished girls. A husband would only get in her way. However, one happenstance meeting with the Earl of Selhorst awakens desires Josie has never felt before. As a girl, she dreamed of love, but the struggles of growing up in poverty hardened her heart. She refuses to put her future in the hands of a husband. But, Josie never ignores an opportunity to expand her mind, and until now, the passions between a man and a woman had gone unexplored. All she has to do is convince Lord Selhorst to help. Patrick Richard Madden, Earl of Selhorst, has lived a charmed life, universally liked by everyone he knows, until he falls on Josette Marsden, knocking her to the ground and all good sense from his head. From there on, Josie does not like him, and he sets out to change her mind. But in return, Josie doesn't offer friendship, but a chance to help her experiment. With passion. While Patrick knows he should refuse, he can’t resist Josie’s beautiful face and her extraordinary mind. She’s made it clear her interest in him is purely academic. He's never met a woman whose love of knowledge matches his own. He’s determined to show her that marriage to him doesn’t mean giving up her convictions. A battle of wills ensues, and like all experiments, there is a measure of risk. The closer they become, the more passion and pleasure binds them together. But will scandal force her to give up her principles for the protection of a husband, or can Patrick convince her that giving away her heart doesn't mean giving up her dreams?