Book excerpt: Lovely, inexperienced Miss Carly Blakemore, only nineteen years of age, is received at her first post as governess for two precocious children, ready to love them as her own. But her biggest challenge will be their father; masterful and strong in everything-especially his kiss. Poor and without dowry-and even worse-now orphaned, Miss Carly Blakemore is thrown into the Victorian world without aid. Carly is forced to seek a position as governess in the house of Lord Huntington, the Earl of Dunfordshire-a man alone in his own right-and under suspicion for the tragic murder of his well-known and adulteress wife. His governess's honesty and forthrightness quickly offend his noble person, finding himself reeling from her constant evaluation of his lack of parenting skills. However, in the midst of his resentments, he finds himself strangely drawn in by her very no-nonsense ways that drive him to madness. Carly stands her ground in head-to-head battles of will that take her to the brink of dismissal.