Having spent several years caring for her grandmother, Belinda Melville has hardly ever left her family home. But when her beautiful but selfish cousin – Lady Deirdre Archer – summons her to Archer Hall while her husband is away, Belinda reluctantly agrees to act as her companion. In the whirl of society activity, Belinda crosses paths with the handsome Captain Anthony Wainright, newly returned from the Peninsular war. To her dismay, she discovers that he is nursing an illicit passion for Deirdre that could land them both in scandal. To protect her cousin’s reputation, Belinda agrees to become temporarily betrothed to Anthony. But it soon becomes clear that she is in danger of falling for a man who has already bestowed his heart on another.