In the shadowy depths of 1819 London, journalist Ezra Geldart leads a double life alongside his aristocratic cousin, Lord Cameron Brough, as they excavate the bodies for the surgeon Mr. Bennett. On his birthday - a day meant for celebration - a surprise invitation brings Ezra's estranged twin sister, Eliza, back into his life, just as the air around them thickens with tension.
At Lady Griswold and Bartholomew's engagement ball, unspoken feelings smolder beneath finery and laughter. Bartholomew is enamored with Eliza, but she wields her disdain for him like armor, protecting herself from his advances. As the cousins dig deeper into the remains of London's secrets, Eliza stumbles upon Ezra's hidden truth, igniting her curiosity and joining the macabre job as a decoy.
However, as revelations unfold, ambitions darken. Bartholomew's infatuation with Eliza turns obsessive, leading him to unleash a determined pursuit that tests the bonds of family and friendship. As their lives unravel, the siblings must navigate the murky waters of love, ambition, and betrayal. Can Ezra and Eliza unearth the skeletons of their past-and survive Bartholomew's relentless obsession-before it consumes them all?
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.