Only her desire to crush the Crown's enemies could induce Lady Lucy Stanford to endure another Season. For years she has worked secretly for the Home Office, and she has come to London with one purpose: foil the attempted kidnapping of a highly valuable target, identity unknown. Inconveniently, Lord Harrington--Lucy's brother and guardian--has other plans. He won't be satisfied until she is at long last married. After years on the Continent, Blake Gower, Earl of Devonton, returns to England in need of a wife. He should not be surprised when his best friend Harrington's sister recaptures his attention. But there's more to the woman Lady Lucy has become than the delightful girl Blake remembers. When she takes an unexpected jaunt to the country during the height of the Season, Blake is determined to know why--and to discover all Lady Lucy's secrets. Unwilling to give up her patriotic mission for marriage, Lucy is conflicted when she meets the enigmatic Lord Devonton. She never expected to feel this way about a man again. When the ransom demand comes due--will it be for Lady Lucy's heart?