Jean Wilde

The Earl and the Peahen Jean Wilde

Can a plain spinster with few prospects inspire a peacock dandy to look beneath the surface?

At the precarious age of twenty-five, Jane Mayfield can't compete with the fresh-faced debutantes with their generous dowries. Still, she's determined to make an advantageous love match before the end of the London season.

Alexander Gordon, the Earl of Norwich, has spent his life searching for a truth that's often evaded him. He's finally come to realize that the loneliness plaguing him can only be remedied by love and family. Upon venturing into the marriage mart, he encounters the plain yet charming Miss Mayfield. While she captures his attention, she's far from the ideal match he had in mind.

When a case of mistaken identity lands them in the clutches of a professional criminal, they find themselves imprisoned with little chance of escape. A tentative alliance blossoms into enrapturing romance, but once they're freed Jane's heart faces a far more wrenching plight.

Will Alexander still ache for her as he once did? Or was the passion between them an illusion borne from their harrowing experience? Content Warning: contains sexual content