If she wanted to save him, there was no room to hesitate… Resigned and dreading an arranged marriage that’s as ill-suited as it is unwanted, Lord Walraven accepts the invitation of a ramshackle acquaintance to journey to a house party in the far north of England as a last hurrah before accepting his fate. But in this helter-skelter party, schemes to ensnare Lord Walraven and his wealth are afoot. Anna Welbourne has been her brother’s drudge for years now. When she is sent by herself to prepare their ancestral home and its unsuspecting servants for his grand party, she is furious enough to try anything to rid herself of her brother’s cruel guardianship. But among his guests is a man to whom she owes a debt, and she must pay him back. So when, after a raucous game of cards, Anna sees the handsome Lord Walraven being swept off to Gretna Green by a conniving woman, she not only sees a chance to escape her brother, but a way to pay the debt.

He is in desperate need of a wife. She is accepting someone else. Will one summer be enough to change her mind? James Hammond is in a bind. To fulfill the dictates of his late cousin’s will, he must provide a London season for his new ward, Belinda. An easy thing to do with his fashionable, London-loving wife, if only she hadn’t died right before his cousin. Now, with his new ward to care for, a rascal of a son to keep in check, and a mountain of debt left by his wife, James must find a bride, and fast. But after his third rejection in as many months, James is beginning to lose hope. Letty Langham does not fall in love. She experienced the emotion once before and it went about as badly as a case of unrequited love can go. Now she has vowed never to give those emotions any rein again. But not wanting to be alone forever, she sees the wisdom in accepting the proposal of the impeccable Lord Bransbury come autumn, after she spends the summer with her cousins near Bath. But after an act of charity goes horribly askew, Letty finds herself in the frequent company of Mr. James Hammond, whose handsome face and easygoing manners are making her rethink keeping her feelings bound.