Her father expects her marriage to be advantageous-for him. It's that or a French nunnery, complete with cold baths and spiders. She's desperate to convince the gentleman she prefers to propose first. Face to face with his own mortality, the new baronet needs an heir. And the first step is to travel to London to find a nice, placid wife. He crosses paths, and wits, with a viscount's daughter who's always ready to spit thorns. But Jesper soon realizes that Eleanor Henry is in more trouble than she knows. He might be a shaggy, shabby baronet, but he's cared for Roseford's people and its wild lands; how hard could it be to help one friendless woman? It's not like they're in danger of falling in love.