It was a message Lalitha Studley would rather have died than deliver. Her beautiful stepsister had suddenly decided not to go through with her elopement with the wealthy, handsome Lord Inigo Alexander Rothwyn. Lalitha had been sent to the church to inform the waiting nobleman that his future bride would not be arriving.

As she stood before the enraged and jilted bridegroom, Lalitha steeled herself for a further outburst of Rothwyn's fury. She had been quite prepared for the vehemence of his initial reaction: his Lordship's vile temper was the talk of London society. But what would he do to her now? His next reaction took her totally by surprise.