Crispin Ashforth returns from battle the newly inherited Duke of Whitley with two sisters under his charge. Publicly lauded as a hero, he is haunted by the bitter mission that nearly saw him killed and cost the life of his best friend. Heâs desperate to drown out the demons tormenting him by any means, regardless of how depraved. All he needs to do is find a proper governess for his hellion sisters so he can drink and wench himself into oblivion. Enter Miss Jacinda Turnbow, who is as lovely as she is prickly. It doesnât take Crispin long to realize heâs found precisely the sort of distraction he needs in the prim governess. But Jacinda has secrets of her own, and sheâs no ordinary governess. To save herself and her father from ruin, she has agreed to infiltrate the dukeâs home and search for evidence that heâs a traitor. Resisting his advances grows more difficult by the day, however, as she discovers thereâs more to Crispin than the careless life of sin heâs cultivated. And the greatest danger she faces is losing her heart to the man she has no choice but to betray.