THERE WAS A GROWING AIR OF MYSTERY ABOUT THE HOUSE--AND ITS ENIGMATIC OWNER. Cressida Charmsworth had only recently learned to savor the pleasures of the rich and unencumbered. Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-three, she was society's premier Incomparable, having inherited more money than a green country girl could ever imagine. Desiring a respite from London's social whirlwind, she set her eye on a quaint summer cottage by the sea. But its owner, stuffy Lord ,Dauntry, refused to lend it to her. Cressida was convinced he used it to entertain his chere amie. Forced to content herself with the house next door, she remained captivated by ghostly rumors that fueled her fertile imagination. But her brazen midnight snooping proved dangerous when she was swept into the lusty embrace of an attractive stranger--and plunged into the mysteries of the heart. . . .