A Secret Infatuation: a regency romance (The Earl's Sisters)

She never forgot the boy who defended her. He never dreamed she would remember. Lady Sophia Rowlandson has spent years perfecting the art of quiet composure—broken only once, at a country picnic when she was fifteen. Branded a lackwit by an insensitive neighbor, she was rescued by the unexpected gallantry of his visiting friend. Mr. Harwood’s defens e lingered in her memory, and not even a separation of four years succeeded in dimming her admiration. Felix Harwood remembered his friend’s lovely neighbor but had no expectation of seeing her again. After a period of four years during which he volunteered in the yeomanry, standing guard along England’s coast, he is now in London and ready to take his seat in Parliament. When he meets Lady Sophia again, he immediately falls under her charm and must fight to remind himself she is above him in station. Despite his determination to stay away, the appeal of her gentle nature shakes his carefully built resolve, and her kindness tempts him toward hope. But society has claims of its own—and rivals eager to win her hand.