Descrip­tions

Redoutable marieuse, Sa Grâce la duchesse de Roxburghe s’apprête cette fois à relever un défi de taille. En effet, lord Alasdair Kirk souhaiterait faire sa cour à Mlle Dahlia Balfour, mais il cumule les handicaps. Tout d’abord, il est balafré et boiteux depuis l’accident qui a coûté la vie à sa première épouse. De plus, il a les manières déplorables d’un rustre. Surtout, Dahlia le déteste. Qu’importe ! décrète lord Kirk, qui ne veut pas entendre parler d’amour mais de « compatibilité ». La duchesse insiste : la jeune fille est romantique. Pour la conquérir, il doit se montrer raffiné. Et le reste, promis, elle en fait son affaire…

Scarred in the terrible accident that took his wife, gruff Lord Kirk has hidden himself from Society. When he meets his neighbor, Dahlia Balfour - a young beauty who shares his love for poetry and books - he realizes she is the one woman who could make him forget the past. But how can such a recluse attract the eye of an enchantress? Kirk appeals to his godmother, the Duchess of Roxburghe, to help him become the dashing, well-dressed hero of Dahlia's dreams.

Arriving at a house party given by the Duchess, Dahlia is unprepared for the change in her neighbor. Suddenly, she is seeing him in a whole new light. When he captures her lips with an ardent kiss, she realizes he could be her romantic hero, but then a jealous rival twists an inadvertent comment she makes. Now Dahlia must persuade Kirk that she's not just a pretty girl feeling pity, but a passionate woman who sees past painful scars into the soul of the man she's come to love.