The gentlemen of the Bastion Club have proven their courage while fighting England's enemies, but nothing has prepared them for dealing with that most formidable of challenges: the opposite sex.

Deverell, Viscount Paignton, needs a wife and believes he's discovered her--not swanning about like a typical debutante, but in the library with her nose buried in a book! Phoebe Malleson is tempted to distraction by Deverell, yet marrying him isn't part of her plan. But telling him to go away doesn't work . . . and he quickly learns of the secret she's been trying to hide. Someone powerful has her pet cause targeted for destruction--and now she must accept Deverell's help . . . though the cost to them both might be dear--and deadly.