Jilted by her fiancé, Lady Larkspur finds herself in a very vulnerable position. As the only unattached daughter of a peer, she is in danger of becoming an old maid at twenty-four. That is, until her father arranges a marriage behind her back—to a man thrice her age.

Desperate to avoid a loveless marriage, headstrong Lady larkspur pretends she is ill—and unsuitable to become a wife. But her swoons and fevers don’t fool Benedict Queensman, the physician who is charged with her care. He immediately sees Lark’s “decline” as artifice, yet whisks her off to Brighton in hopes that the sea air can revive her. Yet Ben discovers that the last he wants is to cure the woman who has won his heart—just to lose her to another…