The mysterious Miss Collins

Miss Alice Rushton appears to be nothing more than an unremarkable schoolmistress at 'Mrs Melling's Academy for Young Ladies'. Polite, reserved, and dutiful, there's seemingly nothing extraordinary about her. Or so it seems.
In truth, everything about Alice Rushton is a lie-her name, her past, her family, her very identity. Every piece of her carefully crafted life is a facade, designed to shield her from the shadows of a dangerous past.
For years, the deception kept her safe. But that fragile security shatters with the unexpected arrival of Lord Jasper Rushton, the enigmatic Duke of Edgewood. His presence threatens not only to unravel her secrets but also to pull her back into a world she had fought so desperately to escape.