IS IT A PASSING WHIM... Cordelia Bransford, a spinster at twenty-four, is happy to spend a few months at Lodesham Hall helping her expectant cousin care for her three little children. Among the guests attending the Earl’s annual fishing tourney is Lord Matthew Allerton, a man with a reputation for more than his share of youthful scandal. Corey vows to resist his good looks and easy charm, believing his flirtatious manner is nothing more than habit. No dashing rakehell could possibly be tamed by a vicar’s unsophisticated daughter... ...OR A ROMANCE TO LAST A LIFETIME? Matt has spent the last few months recovering from his Waterloo injuries, and is much in need of pleasant diversion. He delights in teaching Corey and the children the fine art of angling, despite her witty dismissal of his flirtatious advances. She is refreshingly unlike the frivolous young ladies he’s known—and now that he actually wants a woman to take him seriously, Matt is dismayed by Corey’s absolute refusal to do so! But her love is a prize indeed—and her hand is well worth winning...