Called home to Regency London after his brother's death, Tertius Pembroke, Earl of Skylar, must marry quickly and produce an heir. Lady Gillian Edwards seems the ideal bride: young, beautiful and innocent. But Sky is no ideal husband, having returned from the Indies gaunt, ill and plagued by a darkness that he dare not reveal -- even to his betrothed. Lady Gillian had promised Sky her hand in marriage but cannot give him her heart -- not when she gave it to another man three years ago. Afraid of repudiation, Gillian buries her secret so deep inside herself, no one will ever know -- or so she hopes.