Now that his best friend is blissfully married, Severus Granville, Earl of Swithland, finds himself dealing with a wholly unfamiliar urge-to settle down and produce an heir. But among the bevy of beauties vying for his attention, none hold his interest except for one: Penelope. Clumsy, intelligent, appealing Penelope is the one woman with whom he could escape...but she's expected to marry another. Afraid she'll be labeled an unmarriageable bluestocking, Penelope's family forces her to go without her badly needed spectacles in public, and to hide her intelligence. Though she has loved Severus for years, the best she can hope for is a loveless union with a perfectly suitable-and perfectly boring-cousin. Except Severus seems to have changed his mind. Hours spent in his rooftop observatory lead to a passion neither of them expected. Yet just as their eyes are opened to the possibility of lasting love, Penelope is snatched away, a pawn in a plot to destroy her family and make her a slave to a man she hardly knows. If he wants to keep his heart's treasure, Severus will have to fight for her with everything within him-mind, body and soul.