Lord Edmund Knight is a vicar that has dedicated his life to rescuing women sold into prostitution. One night, he receives word that a lady is being auctioned. Lady Isabella Hartmere is rescued and hidden by Edmund at his brother's estate. Eighteen months later, Lady Isabella is still being pursued and Edmund and others work to keep her safe until she comes of age.

The blurb sounded promising, but I didn't like this story at all. I would not call it a romance...there were two, maybe three, chaste kisses and that's it. The whole story was focused on hiding Bella and a feud and debt between her father and another lord who was in love with her mother. In my opinion, there were only tiny glimpses of development of a relationship between Edmund and Bella.

As a vicar, Lord Edmund Knight has no real marriage prospects and, therefore, concentrates his efforts on his congregation in the poorer part of the city and finding ways to rescue unwilling ladies pushed into prostitution. When he gets an urgent call to rescue a lady from the auction block, he is horrified at his own reaction to her, especially given his profession. Lady Isabella's situation is worse than he could have imagined and he does his utmost to keep her safe, pulling in the rest of his family to do so. As the facts of the matter start to emerge, Edmund finds he is dealing with an old feud, a debt that has to be settled, and a lady who is the bargaining chip. From the opening pages, this novel is fast-paced and suspenseful as trouble escalates and Edmund discovers that there is more than one enemy who is determined to harm them. The book is well written with interesting characters. One cannot help but fall in love with Edmund in his efforts to solves the ills of a society where women had no rights. Isabella has strength of character and determination, but she is confused as to why her father would willingly auction her off. Fearing for her life and the outcome if she is found, she takes on the role of a servant. A gentle romance develops between Edmund and Isabella until they reach the point where they can o longer deny their feelings. However, after all that Isabella has been through, Edmund is reluctant to take away her choices. I enjoyed this novel, which is a standalone, and comes to a good conclusion, although not everyone can be happy. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Like everything Elizabeth writes, this is such an addictive book and series. I knew from book one that Edmund would have a complex story. I could not put the book down, yet now I am sad that I finished it.
The characters are all very compelling. Edmund and Isabella are brave, generous, considerate, and even a bit stubborn. The story took me through a myriad of emotions. The plot was perfect. The story held my attention throughout and moved at a good pace.
Now I am ready to dive into Felix's story because I think his book will be quite interesting. Of course, I also look forward to Eugenia's book and hope that Isabella's brother, Alex, gets a book.
I highly recommend this book, this series, and all other books written by Elizabeth Johns. Her Loring-Abbott series is a must read.

Lord Edmund Knight has been rescuing the unfortunate women being preyed upon in London. Sometimes that can put him in the sights of some very dangerous people. His work as a vicar in a poor Parish helps those that need help to find him.

Lady Isabella Hartmere has been in hiding for well over a year. Now there is extra danger of someone finding her. She just might have to give up the wonderful work she is doing and go on the run again.

Our heroine is a typical woman of her time, under the control of her father who apparently is not the loving parent she thought.

A very exciting story with wonderful characters that face terrible danger all through. It will keep you well entertained from start to finish. This is part of a series of stand alone books. I can't wait until the next one.

I loved it.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Such dangerous waters flow around the Knight family, they are so handsome but dangerous to know it seems.
At least they live up to their name, with honour and a passion for what they believe in, namely doing good for others.
The only thing they are missing is a white horse, which I’m sure they could find given time.

Edmund is the gentlest of the males in the family, his living is his life.
His faith and trust he puts in God and his family.
When Isabella needs help he’s there and he won’t stop until she’s safe.

Loved the book and the chemistry between these two characters, it’s mesmerising to read and very satisfying to see the results.
Can’t wait to have more from the Knights ,
And hopefully from Alex, Isabella’s brother.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review