”I learned something this morning. If you want to divert a man’s attention away from his baser desires, just ask him about himself. Then listen with an appearance of interest while he discourses at length on numerous boring self-deceptions.” Miss Letitia Ridlington in conversation, Autumn, 1814 Ridlington Village inn doesn’t seem like the place for Fate to linger and meddle in the affairs of mortals. Letitia Ridlington certainly doesn’t think so; she’s there to meet a publisher who has expressed interest in her first—rather scandalous—novel. But before she can sign the contract, she encounters a lady in distress, and by lunchtime she has an almost complete promise of publication, along with a new maid, Harriet Selkirk. Sir James FitzArden patiently accepts his growing affection for Letitia, but feels no rush to declare himself. Until the revelations within a certain manuscript open his eyes to surprises hidden beneath her demure façade. It’s time for him to claim her, and he begins his campaign, but the lady herself has a very strong will, along with ideas that don’t exactly match his. Nobody seems to notice that others are also keeping a close eye on Letitia and her new companion. An importunate duck will offer his opinions, some shocking interludes will raise more than a few genteel eyebrows, and there will be flirtatious stable hands, as well as an outrageous suggestion or two. Letitia is about to lead James into a frustrating dance, and it isn’t the quadrille...