She wants to publish a dark, scandalous gothic novel. Her brother's infuriating best friend has a printing press-and a secret that could ruin everything.
Lady Noelle Pembrooke has absolutely no desire to launch herself onto the marriage mart. She would much rather launch the gothic novel she secretly penned while in mourning. Bookish, reserved, and loathe to dance, Noelle's only solace is a steady stream of encouraging letters from an unexpected confidante: the newly crowned, young Queen Victoria. The current blight on her existence? Her brother's best friend, a Viscount with annoyingly perfect hair, vexatious dimples, and a knack for ruffling her every feather.
Fitzwilliam Pomfrey, Viscount Ludlowe, never meant for his deception to go this far. Moved to comfort his friend's grieving sister, he did the only logical thing a rake could do: he forged a letter of sympathy from the Queen. Now, Noelle is pouring her heart out to a monarch who is actually just the boy she despises.
But the game changes when Fitz faces an ultimatum: marry post-haste or lose his title, fortune, and the printing press his father always told him he wasn't cut out for. He knows exactly who he wants as his viscountess. The problem? His usual charm won't work on Noelle. To win her heart, he has to offer her a true partnership-and promise to publish her scandalous novel.
As the lines between his deception and real desires blur, outside forces threaten to ruin them both. Will they be able to save Adelaide and hold onto Fitz's future, or will their happily ever after remain nothing more than fiction?
A steamy historical rom com with gothic underpinnings and open door spice, for anyone who ever wanted to see their favorite Gothic lady novelists get their flowers, and find abiding love in the bargain.
