When Hugh Winthrop the future Earl of Albury decides to advertise for a wife in the London paper he never expected an anonymous response from a woman who matches him wit for wit. Their back-and-forth letters on the true nature of love something they disagree on wholeheartedly leave him shocked—and intrigued. But then the woman he’s been corresponding with shows up on his doorstep enticingly beautiful and offering a marriage of convenience in exchange for his protection… Lady Phoebe Maitland expected to marry for love and nothing else—until the man she gave her trust betrayed her. The more intrigued she becomes by the mysterious and devastatingly handsome Hugh however the more she realizes he’s holding back from opening his heart due to long-held secrets she struggles to understand. As passion flares wickedly between them their marriage bed is quick to heat up. But when Phoebe’s past threatens to destroy the fragile bond they’ve formed even a budding belief in love might not be enough to save them.