Miss Anne Edwards has been in love for years, and now she is getting married - just not to the man she is in love with. Her father had made the match of the Season for her, but she just wants to find her way back into the arms of the man who taught her all about passion.Lord David Stallman, the Marquess of Ridgley, has been through Hell and back. Born a third son to the Duke of Marshbane, David finds himself returning from war crazed and as the Heir he was never meant to be. Matched with the young but intelligent Miss Edwards through the machinations of both of their fathers, David is enchanted, yet there is still the fact that he is harboring far more than madness as a dark secret.Geoffrey MacAuley knows a thing or two about darkness. Born a recognized bastard, but not legally protected in his father's will, Geoffrey has been forced into service despite being raised a gentleman. As the valet to the Marquess of Ridgley, he knows he could have done much worse on the employer front, but one night changes their working relationship forever...and this is before his past waltzes back into his life in the form of his employers betrothed.