A wallflower. A wanted criminal. A love neither can afford.

Lady Lavender Gardner has loved before, and she refuses to make the same mistake again. Scarred—physically and emotionally—she must set aside her own insecurities in order to fulfill her father’s dying wish: to see her wed before he passes. But as one far more comfortable in a library than in a ballroom, Lavender is discovering that securing a husband is more complicated than she imagined.

Having been accused of treason, Thomas Monteclare, Duke of Fenleigh, goes into hiding. As much as he enjoys his new life as a servant, he knows it cannot last forever. Especially when it keeps him from courting the captivating Lady Lavender properly. But with rising tension surrounding his disappearance, a single misstep could end at the gallows.

As their forbidden attraction grows, can Lavender risk her future—and Thomas his life—for a love that could ruin them both?