AustLit

'A Lord who finds society dull, a Lady with a sharp tongued reputation, an unexpected friendship, an unwanted suitor, blackmail and gossip, a triumph of love.

'Lady Hyacinth Gardenbrook has been labelled a shrew by society, and knows that the fault rests on her own shoulders. Yet she cannot but be herself – even though it means that few gentlemen stay interested in her, past a conversation or two, despite the size of her dowry. She does what she can to constrain her tendency to bluntly tell others the truth, but she despairs of ever finding a man who might see past her sharp tongue.

'Lord Kevin Loughbridge finds society dull – and more so each year. The young women coming out are all the same – pastel, faded, and uninspiring, incapable of an interesting conversation. So he challenges himself to approach the one woman whose reputation suggests that she would not be dull at all. And she isn’t dull – not in the least. But he is torn – more and more he is convinced that his father is hiding something, and that he is needed at the family home in the country, even whilst he wishes to stay in London, to spend more time with Lady Hyacinth.

'Can Lord Kevin see past Lady Hyacinth’s reputation, to the person she truly is? Can Lady Hyacinth accept Lord Kevin’s regular unexplained absences, without suspecting the worst? And when an unwanted suitor turns to blackmail, can Lord Kevin discover the truth, in time to save the woman he has come to love, or will a past moment of inattention cost Lady Hyacinth her life’s happiness?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.