Book excerpt: "Society is a formidable foe. And a young lady needs the proper weapons if she is to be more than a mere bauble on a rich man's arm. I will provide the weapons. It is up to each student to find her passions." Tucked away in the countryside, away from prying eyes, Mrs. Treadwell's Academy for Young Ladies is a place like no other. After all, only the most scandalous school would teach young ladies to trust their passions, to think for themselves, and to achieve their true potential--in life as well as in love.... Nichola Hainesworth's desperate mother enrolled her at the Academy to master the fine art of marrying well. But Nichola has other plans. At first, she intends to escape. But soon she is drawn to the school's scandalously unorthodox fencing lessons . . . and its irresistibly arrogant instructor. A wounded war hero, Lord Brian Boru makes Nichola's heart race as he guides each thrust and parry. His rakish reputation would make her mother swoon, but Nichola sees beyond the Scotsman's fierce facade to the guarded heart beneath. And while the cardinal rule of swordplay is never to let one's heart overrule one's head, Nichola Hainesworth is about to learn that most rules are made to be broken! Watch for the next stunningly romantic School for Scandal novel, coming soon from Dell.