Lily Farnsworth is a resourceful lady. As well she should be, her father has spent years dragging the family's estate from the edge of ruin and she's always had to make do with little. A proper season and the gowns to go with it seem entirely out of reach. That is, until Lily discovers she has a particular skill at piquet. Pound by pound, she gathers the funds to pay her own way. Her aunt is delighted to play host in her modest London house and squire her niece to parties. All are certain that one season will be enough to see Lily married well and with the means to help her sisters.
Hayes Summersby, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Duke of Dembly, may be in line to inherit a great estate, but that estate has recently tottered on the brink of collapse. He's only rescued it through his skill at a card table. He's a renowned gambler and has firm opinions about it—the foremost being that women do not have the steady nerves for large bets. That is, until Miss Farnsworth challenges him in Lady Blakeley's drawing room.
Despite their mutual dislike, it will not be easy to escape one another. They will find that their acquaintance has turned from uncomfortable to deadly.
Contains mature themes.