Elise Claude was once a popular debutante herself before a chronic illness ended her first season prematurely. Now, a spinster at 29, she’s determined to find suitable matches for her three younger sisters, hoping to marry them off in exchange for their mother finally giving Elise the inheritance her late father left her so she can retire somewhere far from the madding crowd. When the Viscount of Blackmore suddenly makes it his life mission to vex her, Elise allows it, if only because his apparent interest in annoying her happens to attract more suitors for her sisters. It doesn’t hurt that he’s so bloody handsome.
Henry Bryce, Viscount of Blackmore, is a notorious rake, the bane of mamas throughout the ton who dread the day he sets his sights on their daughters. Perfectly content to seduce his way through the ton, he has no intention to marry anytime soon. Then he meets Elise, a sedate wallflower with a tongue sharper than any rose’s thorn, and he’s immediately captivated. But what starts as a battle of wits, shifts into something more passionate and scandalous, and when a man from Elise’s past returns with the intent to marry her, Henry is left with no choice but to do what no one else ever has before: fight for Elise.
another huge thank you to @roughentumble who's helped me develop these characters!
