Hugh Prentice has never had patience for dramatic females, and if Lady Sarah Pleinsworth has ever been acquainted with the words shy or retiring, she's long since tossed them out the window. Besides, a reckless duel has left this brilliant mathematician with a ruined leg, and now he could never court a woman like Sarah, much less dream of marrying her.

Sarah has never forgiven Hugh for the duel he fought that nearly destroyed her family. But even if she could find a way to forgive him, it wouldn't matter. She doesn't care that his leg is less than perfect, it's his personality she can't abide. But forced to spend a week in close company they discover that first impressions are not always reliable. And when one kiss leads to two, three, and four, the mathematician may lose count, and the lady may, for the first time, find herself speechless . . .

New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn's enchanting third novel in the Smythe-Smith quartet is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud and tug at your heartstrings in equal measures.

"Quinn brings her signature style and wit to yet another late-Regency romance . . . charmingly romantic, with compelling edges of dark conflict and sexual tension" - Kirkus Reviews

"Quinn is always a delight! . . . a wild romp . . . there's witty banter, a colourful cast of characters and enough secrets and scandals to keep the gossip-mongers happy. A great, entertaining read" - RT Book Reviews

Julia Quinn started writing her first book one month after finishing university and has been tapping away at her keyboard ever since. The No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, she is a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and is one of only sixteen authors ever to be inducted in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family.