It was a most humiliating situation. Mistress Claire Curran of London arrived at the Virginia office of her uncle’s solicitor knowing nothing of the private correspondence she bore. With a simple break of the seal, she was hopelessly trapped in a shameless bargain: her hand given in marriage to a stranger to clear an unpaid debt. Alone and penniless, at first she has no means of escaping her lowly fate. But she pledges to be no man’s pawn in such a dishonorable game--and certainly no man’s wife. With a sharp mind and an unbreakable spirit, Claire devises to play the part of Rosewind’s mistress...but only until she can find a way out.