When Captain James Hartcourt’s best friends ask him for an unusual favour, he doesn’t hesitate. Losing fortunes at cards, London’s shady underworld, his mother’s schemes – few things daunt him. Until he meets Lady May.

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Destitute, Lady May stakes her reputation in one great gamble to retrieve her family’s estate. Arriving alone in London with a proposition he cannot refuse, she discovers that Captain Hartcourt is a cardsharp with emerald eyes, dangerous kisses, and a shed that seems to house horrendous secrets. Soon she must wonder whether he is a murderer too.


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The 5th novel in the Regency Tales lets us renew the acquaintance of the beloved characters from parts 1 and 2 — Major Hastings and Lady Marigold. And Captain Hartcourt.

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This is a story of personal growth, healing from trauma, and living with anxiety in a time when such things were not talked of, let alone medicated.

It is a story of filth, death, and betrayal but also of finding love in the most unexpected places.