The Great Scandal of 1879 - Great Victorian Romances, #2

From Society's Wreckage, a Scandalous Love Blooms

Rhodie Ogden is on her last dance before obscurity. With a cardsharp for a father and a schemer for a mother, her duty is clear: snare a titled husband for them to plunder. Deeply unhappy, she's a reluctant huntress in a world of paste rhinestones and false smiles.

Julian, Lord Seaforth, is a brooding recluse battling private demons. Dragged to a soiree, he's immediately besieged by matchmaking mamas. Seeking refuge, he finds Rhodie—hiding from a different kind of predator; a pompous baron.

Their first waltz is an escape. Their whirlwind marriage is a catastrophe.

Julian, wrestling with profound darkness, becomes a neglectful and difficult husband. Rhodie, finally free of her family's grip, refuses to be imprisoned by his gloom. With a mysterious, powerful duke as her charming and very public escort, she dives into every ball, opera, and scandalous casino London offers.

The rumors are delicious. The humiliation is complete. When Julian realizes he's become the town's favorite cuckold, their explosive battles become neighborhood entertainment, forcing them into a volatile exile at his villa in Torquay.

But the rocky shores of Devon offer no sanctuary from the past. The charming duke is not done with Rhodie—and Julian knows a dangerous secret about the man that could ruin them all.

Trapped together with blackmail circling and their reputations in tatters, this most inconvenient marriage must become a true alliance. In the face of ruin, they'll discover that the path to redemption is paved with fierce fights, fiercer passion, and a love worth fighting for.

? A high-heat, spicy open-door Victorian romance of wounded hearts, wicked gossip, and the wild, unexpected romance that blooms when there's nothing left to lose.