Fortune's Hunter

Because of the terms of her father's will, Lady Henrietta has long known she must marry her unpleasant second cousin Desmond Galbraith, seventh earl of Tavistock. When a man who epitomizes her romantic daydreams walks into her engagement ball, she's appalled to discover this is another second cousin, Roland, heir apparent to the earldom, returned from his long banishment in India. Her childhood memories of him are confused and vague, but she's often heard the terrible stories of his cruelty. Then Desmond drinks a mocking toast to Lady Netta and dies of oleander poisoning... Could Roland have murdered him for the title? While Benjamin Frake of Bow Street sets about uncovering clues and investigating suspects, Lady Netta is torn between both fear of, and undeniable attraction to, this older cousin. While she begins to question all she has ever known of Roland, he makes it clear she's part of a past he only wants to forget. Netta soon realizes that in risking her heart, she might also be risking her life.