Mistress of Two Fortunes and a Duke

Parental neglect and new money have been the making of parvenue heiress and incorrigible do-gooder, Tilly Ravelsham. She is bent on relieving poverty and forwarding the cause of liberty by whatever means necessary. True, she dabbles in the demi-monde. True, she breaks into houses. True, she conducts scandalous enterprises and an affair that could ruin her socially, if her enemy exposes her. But is that all so very wrong? Despite falling in love with Mr. Rutherford, a delicious man about town, Tilly is bound in a secret pact to the man about to marry her. She didn’t mean to fall for Rutherford, and breaking his heart is making her wretchedly unhappy. Then she realizes that she has crossed a line, that her actions and influence are slowly destroying him. She knows she should set him free, so that he might be happy with another. But her heart refuses to let go, and Tilly is growing tired of making sacrifices so that others may find happiness when she is miserable. Reluctant duke-to-be, Mr. Rutherford, has his life turned upside-down by the most fascinating, tempting and shocking woman he has ever met, leaving his heart utterly smitten. But as merely seducing her has proved ineffective, Rutherford must find some other way of convincing her to marry him before she makes it to the altar with her rich-as-a-prince fiancé. When Rutherford’s love for the adventuress of his dreams gets him stabbed, pistol-whipped, unlawfully confined, and almost framed for a capital offence, will he conclude that there is such a thing as a young lady who is too interesting? Will he turn to the mysterious, beautiful widow his uncle has made him swear to protect? And will a concealed pregnancy or a murder be the powder keg that blows all of Tilly and Rutherford’s plans and secrets wide open?