Gentle Reader: My husband is dead and my four-year-old son is the new Earl of Weston. Perhaps even more catastrophic, however, is the news that my husband named his brother, Stephen, the guardian of Giles and of all the immense Grandville estate. Five years ago, Stephen was banished to Jamaica and now he is coming home. Once the thought of Stephen coming home to me was all I wanted out of life. But not anymore. I have made my life without him. I have my son, my horses, my home. There are some things that are unforgivable, as Stephen will find out if he thinks he can take up where he left off with me. My fondest regards,

Annabelle Grandville