When the Burrell sisters take the ton by storm, nobody is more surprised than Viola. The whirlwind of their elevation to the highest in the land pushes her into the arms of the Earl of Knowsley. Viola is lost, all her careful plans abandoned. She has nothing to offer but her beauty. A hidden disability has taken away her confidence and her grace. If she gives him her heart, will he give her a ring, or a carte blanche? Gerald wants to marry, but not to the ravishing beauty who entrances him from the first time he sets eyes on her. He wants a rational marriage with moderate affection, not the tempest of passion Viola leads him into. From an encounter in the sordid London docks, to a presentation at court, to riding lessons in the park, Viola and Gerald grow closer, until the actions of her sister and his best friend threaten to force them apart. If they survive this, they can survive anything. If they don’t, they’ll part forever.