Dire circumstances often lead to desperate measures, and it's the most extreme desperation that leads spinster Edith Dean to the door of a notorious rake, in search of her wayward brother. Without Loftus Dean owning up to his responsibilities, she and her young sisters face starvation and ruin. Though, if anyone learns she's traveled to Mr. West's home in London without a chaperone, ruin will befall her anyway.

A spinster has no business in Sidney West's decadent London town house. But the moment he sets eyes on Edith, he feels protective instincts so strong, he barely hesitates to give the woman and her sisters safe harbor. And the longer Edith stays, the clearer the depths of her brother's neglect...and Sidney's determination to keep her close and safe. But is it possible for a woman of virtue to believe the rake of last resort might just be her hero in disguise?

A standalone regency romance short story.