England 1814: He is a marquess with a woman to protect and an assassin to thwart. She is...not nice. The Marquess of Dansbury is a strong, charismatic man living a charmed life as an agent for the crown. His past isn't without tragedy, but he is too amiable to allow misfortune to mar his positive outlook on life. Until now...when he finds himself tasked with protecting the one woman in the world he actively disdains, Lady Beatryce Beckett. Lady Beatryce Beckett is mean. She ruins other women on purpose. She lies. She cheats. She even steals. And she takes particular pleasure in provoking a certain marquess. In short, she'll do anything to get what she wants: freedom from her abusive father. But she is strong (she's had to be), worthy (who'd have thought it), and in love... Wait, what? It will take a special man to see the true woman beneath the surface...and a strong woman to allow him that glimpse. Is the Marquess of Dansbury up to the task?