Victoria and the Viscount

Like a porcelain doll carefully positioned for all to admire, Lady Victoria Valmore is caught in the ton trap. Imprisoned by her social standing and royal connections, her passionate nature, which yearns for freedom and love, is packed neatly away by the constant companions that warden her behavior and crowd her life. All seems as it should be, when Nate Livingston—fresh from war and healing from a family tragedy—seizes a chance meeting with the only woman he has ever loved, Victoria, and his words leave a figurative crack on her carefully crafted façade that is exacerbated by her parents untimely death. Confused by the maelstrom of emotions she is constantly working to keep in check, Victoria fatefully investigates her parents’ death, and she starts by staging an elaborate kidnapping that leaves her half-naked and pulling hesitantly from Nate’s arms and leaves London turned on its ear.

The mystery of her parents’ death is deepened with the appearance of a 42-karat blue diamond cursed by the Queen of Sheba, two merchant ships operating on illegal trade routes, and Count Molinero—her father’s sadistic and evil enemy. Nate finally catches up with her and attempts to woo her from her mission, first with his words and then with his lean, hard body. Determined to keep her safe, he stands by her, despite Victoria’s headlong rush into dangerous territory that quickly becomes treacherous and lost, taking from her everything that she holds dear and leaving her damning her rush to flee the life she once knew.

Alone and thrown from pedestal to cage, Victoria finally begins to understand what really matters in life, and her porcelain cocoon is shattered, leaving behind a woman who learns from regret and who understands what it means to love and be loved. A strange and unforeseen event gives Victoria a chance to regain what she has lost. If she is brave enough to face an old, vengeful enemy and clever enough to outwit him, she and Nate may yet have the opportunity to explore the thrill of passion and the joy of love.