At the age of ten years old, in the year of 1830, Sophia Hawthorne's parents send her away to go live with a family friend in London. Quite a long journey from Virginia where Sophia lives. One she gets settled down in Ross Manor, she quickly finds friends with two of the three Ross children, Joseph and Alice. Daniel Ross doesn't seem to be too friendly towards the new-pretty-girl from America. Five years later, in 1835, where Sophia and Joseph are fifteen, Alice is twelve, and Daniel is seventeen, Mrs. Ross thinks it's time for Sophia to go finish her schooling at an all girl's school where she will learn to be a proper lady. Going forward another five years at the age of twenty, the grown-up, extravagantly beautiful Sophia Hawthorne returns to Ross Manor. While being put out high in society, she catches the eye of many men, including the two Ross boys-well, more like men. Daniel Ross, who never enjoyed the company of her starts to warm up to her presence, and her long-time friend Joseph confesses feelings for her. Will she be able to choose which Ross is the right man for her?
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?
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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.