A Woman of Virtue [Paperback]

From the grandeur of regency Mayfair to the dark danger of London's East End, Liz Carlyle sweeps you away with a powerful story of a love born against all odds, as an honorable young widow stands fast against the cynical rogue who seems determined to consume her, heart and soul.
A Woman of Virtue
In the lonely months since her husband's death, Cecilia Lorimer has hidden her emptiness by devoting herself to a charity mission for the unfortunate women of London's slums. But when the dashing Lord Delacourt takes control, she feels an uncharacteristic urge to flee. Just six years earlier, Delacourt had proven himself to be the immoral rake society called him, nearly ruining her reputation in the bargain.
It's whispered that the womanizing Delacourt is vain, vindictive, and merciless. But he's a man who honors his wagers -- and one result lands him in his brother-in-law's godforsaken mission, face-to-face with the woman who has long haunted his dreams. When treachery closes in, only he knows how to guard Cecilia from the consequences of her own principles. Can a profligate knave persuade a virtuous woman that he is worthy of her trust -- and her love?Chapter One: The incorrigible Henrietta Healy

February 1824

The Countess of Walrafen -- who in a long-ago life had been known as Cecilia Markham-Sands -- was newly possessed of a most fashionable villa in Park Crescent. Mr. Nash's latest spurt of architectural genious boasted every modern convenience, including flushing lavatories, an elegantly stuccoed facade, and pale yellow paint so sumptuously applied it looked like butter running down the walls.

There was nothing of the old or the venerated about Park Crescent, though the earldom of Walrafen was both. In fact, to her ladyship's way of thinking, the Walrafen title was so old and stuffy it was well nigh to moldering. She could smell the musty self-righteousness drifting all the way across Marylebone.

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