All Lady Victoria Kirby wants is to dig in the dirt, take notations, and record history, thank you very much. Bumbling through ballrooms and getting disdained by the ton for her less than ideal looks, on the other hand, is the last thing she wants. But her reckless father has a different idea for her future when he puts up the ultimate ante—her hand in marriage—and loses. Over her dead body.



The Duke of Chase cannot bear to see a woman misused. After all, he saw that often enough as a child. So when he's witness to a marquess gambling away his daughter to a lecher of a man, he has no choice but to step in and rescue her. Lady Victoria has a reputation for being as tart as a lemon and as bitter as one, too. So, he may have just found the perfect wife to keep a promise he made to himself long ago—to never have an heir. With her, surely, he'll never be tempted to take her to bed and break that promise.



But when he meets the wild, witty, intelligent young lady he's bound to marry, he knows trouble is headed his way . . . And everything he ever swore to uphold may very well come undone, especially his heart.



Contains mature themes.