To Julian the marriage offered the recovery of his ancestral home; to Anna it meant escape from the loving tyranny of her adoptive father. They liked each other pretty well, so why hesitate? Anna could not bring herself to accept a marriage that simply meant an exchange of tyrants. She wanted to make a dream come true, a dream long cherished, of a brilliant London Season. Her plans would leave little time for a possessive husband. So her consent was conditional on Julian's promise of a large degree of freedom. It was only when she found herself falling in love with her husband that she realised how mistaken she had been, and wished the promise had never been exacted.