The Secret Heart

Love is bitter. Victory is sweet. Caroline Small is a young lady of modest means who wants a secure, comfortable life for herself. Which is to say, she’s a fortune-hunter. She meets her ideal match on a visit to the country: the Earl of Bexley. He's rich, handsome, and honorable enough to fall right into her trap. Or he used to be, anyhow. These days, Bexley wants nothing to do with the gentlemanly virtues he was raised to uphold. Instead, he lives for nights of bare-knuckled boxing, for the match when he finally puts a bigger, stronger man down for the count. Caro's beauty tempts Bexley. Her scandalous passion for ballet dancing intrigues him. But he sees the naked ambition behind Caro's charm, and he won't be captured like prey. Except that he can't resist an opportunity be alone with her....