Shy and stammering Meg Burton-Smythe has spent the whole of her life living on the fringes of local society. Sheโs more comfortable with her daydreams than she is with people. But when a dashing, golden-haired hero rides to her rescue one morning, she dares to hope that her dreams might finally come true. Thereโs only one problem: her handsome rescuer is the son of her fatherโs sworn enemy.
Ivo Beresford doesnโt believe in clinging to the past. Freshly returned from a lengthy grand tour, heโs looking to the future, eager to spearhead the building of a new railway extension in Somersetshire. But an unexpected encounter with Miss Burton-Smythe, the isolated only daughter of his parentsโ oldest foe, sets the past and the future colliding.
Resolved to put ancient grudges to restโat least where innocent young ladies are concernedโIvo encourages lonely Meg to embark on a secret acquaintance. After all, what harm can a friendship do? It isnโt as though thereโs any danger of the two of them falling in loveโฆ
USA Todayย bestselling authorย Mimi Matthewsย writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews inย Publishers Weekly,ย Library Journal,ย Booklist,ย Kirkus, andย Shelf Awareness,ย and her articles have been featured on theย Victorian Web, theย Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication atย BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.