Book excerpt: Savannah has a secret…a secret that could cost her everything she’s been working for. Coming to Merveille and taking up a position as one of Queen Alyssa’s ladies in waiting hadn’t been part of Savannah Rousseau’s plan, but she wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity when it came her way. The daughter of an impoverished viscount, Savannah had nothing to lose and everything to gain by being included amongst the new queen’s entourage…as long as no one found out about her secret. Savannah loved her son. Archer was the sun and moon of her life, but being a single mother would mean instant disqualification from the ladies in waiting. So she hid him from the queen and her new friends…for two years. Now someone had stumbled upon her secret and Savannah would do anything to ensure that she didn’t become a royal embarrassment. Jed Fairchild came to Merveille to escape his own scandal and the last thing he wanted was to be embroiled in another. Finding out about the young boy and impoverished viscount that Savannah had stashed in the abandoned hunting cabins was a complication that he didn’t need. Being attracted to the hot-tempered lady in waiting was another. All Jed wanted was to live a simple life working with his horses and ignoring the rest of the world, but with Savannah in his life and the inquisitive Archer following him like his very own shadow, the quiet life was the last thing Jed had…and maybe it wasn’t really what he wanted after all.