William Chance, Duke of Cothrom, is tired of fighting for his family's reputation.

And it's not like his wayward brothers do much to help. Rascals, rakes, and rogues, the lot of them—and William is always the one picking up the pieces and staving off scandal.

He needs stability. He needs calm. He needs certainty.

He doesn't need a wild young woman launching herself into his arms and demanding that he marry her . . .

But marriage is precisely what Alice Fox-Edwards does need. After surviving a scandal four years ago, the threats of a blackmailer now mean she must find a protector—preferably one with lots of money.

An unlikely pairing, to be sure, but William decides that a wife will give him the balance he so desperately needs. Because Miss Fox-Edwards has no outrageous past, does she? Nothing that might upset his calm or set any tongues wagging. Surely, she wouldn't lie about a thing like that . . .