Elenora Lodge is in quite a fix: Her stepfather lost her farm and all of her possessions in a mining venture. As if that isn't bad enough when her fiancé hears about it he dumps her.
Arthur Lancaster, Earl of St. Merryn is in a bit of a fix himself. His favorite uncle has been murdered, and he's promised vengeance on the killer, a mad alchemist intent on perfecting the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.
St. Merryn, has a reputation as a cold, unfeeling man. The reputation came about, in part, because when notified that his fiancée was eloping with another man, St. Merryn merely commented on the inclement weather the couple was facing and then spent the rest of the evening playing cards. He then made a jest that he would seek his next wife at an agency that specialized in paid companions.
A year later St. Merryn is now one of London's most eligible bachelors and he finds himself in an agency looking for a paid companion, This paid companion isn't just going to be hired for companionship, she is going to pose as his fiancée to keep the women off his back.
St. Merryn ends up offering Elenora the position as his paid companion, which she accepts.
What follows is a delicious tale of mystery and romance.
This report prepared by Amy
