Summary

Dear Reader,

Having started my career with Jane Austen-style traditional Regencies, I wanted to make my first full- length historical romance as exciting, smoldering, and sensual as I could. The result was Dearly Beloved, which was described by Romantic Times as "one of the best books of this or any other year," and which won me their award for Best Regency Historical Writer. I'm delighted that Signet is reissuing the story.

As enigmatic as she is exquisite, Diana Lindsay is the most desirable and sought-after woman in London, her smile worth a prince's ransom. Yet Diana wants only one man—a haunted lord with mysterious secrets as deep as hers.

Gervase Brandelin, the Viscount St. Aubyn, dedicated himself to the service of his country as a way to redeem the sins of his youth. As a spymaster, he seeks out England's hidden enemies. Nothing can sway him from his duty-until he meets a woman who touches his heart even more than she dazzles his senses. In Diana he finds warmth and hope—yet he is bitterly aware that she can never be his.

Then the two halves of Gervase's life come together in a cataclysm that threatens to separate him from Diana forever. Perhaps love might bring them together—but first they must survive the assault of a deadly enemy.

Happy reading!

Mary Jo Putney