Anyone But the Earl

New York City, 1896. Octavia Sewell has everything she could want: beautiful dresses, a place in Society, and an English earl on the verge of a marriage proposal. Correction: Octavia has everything her mother could want for her and no idea what she wants for herself. There's one thing she's certain about, though: she'd rather compromise herself with just about anyone than be forced into a marriage she dreads.

W. Clifton is always prepared to assist a lady, especially when it's the sister of a friend he's known since his college days who turns up at his office. But while Octavia Sewell is obviously mixed up in something, she seems unable to say exactly what her troubles are. With each subsequent meeting, though, Clif finds himself more interested in helping her for reasons that are increasingly personal and far less chivalrous.

When Octavia flees from a disastrous evening with the earl, she runs straight to Clif. In seeking to protect herself from a man she hates, though, she may have hurt the man she loves. Has she lost her chance for future happiness, just when she's finally figured out what it looks like?