It's the year of 1801 and Europe is embroiled in war.
From the Russian steeps, in the far north, to Portugal in the south, blood is being spilled.
When the War of the Oranges ends in an shameful defeat for the Portuguese forces, against their Spanish foes, the Prince Regent John of Portugal, the future John VI, appoints the Prussian Karl-Alexander von der Goltz as a General in the Portuguese Army.
His objective?
To take the broken Portuguese forces and to forge them into a weapon, strong enough to protect the small nation.
This story his about the effects of von der Goltz reforms, that in our time were ignored by the Anglo-Portuguese officers.
Will Portugal, like the phoenix, be able to rise from the ashes? Will the Wyvern be once again feared across Europe? Or will end in chaos and destruction, the moment the French Eagles set foot in Portuguese soil?
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.