Simmering with danger, alight with humor, and always ablaze with passion, Jane Feather's novels have made her one of today's most beloved romance authors. Now, the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow's Kiss returns with the unforgettable story of a daring young widow driven by a single burning obsession...and the brazen master spy who vows to lay bare her secrets...body and soul... One moment Lady Pen Bryanston was recklessly rifling through her mother-in-law's ledgers searching for clues; the next she was matching wits with an elegant, arrogant stranger who had caught her in the act. He said that he'd followed her. He claimed that he wanted her. Yet when he took her in his arms, an astonished Pen could only laugh. Owen d'Arcy was a sophisticated spy whose notoriously lethal charms had never failed him-until now. Sent by the French ambassador to seduce the lovely confidante of the cousin of the Holy Roman Emperor, Owen had entertained no doubts he would succeed in capturing both the lady and her royal secrets. But when he swept Pen Bryanston into his embrace, hoping to throw her into confusion, he found himself unexpectedly disarmed, nonplussed and outmaneuvered by a rank amateur. Here was a woman who did not melt at his pretty words and smoldering glances, a woman who in fact found amusement in his advances! Clearly, a woman with hidden depths that begged to be explored... Pen sensed from the first that Owen d'Arcy was an infinitely dangerous man. What she couldn't comprehend was why a man of his ilk, a man who moved through the courtier's world with supreme confidence-a man whose skill with a rapier was that of a trained assassin-would be interested in her. Yet the thought of it sent shivers of excitement coursing through her. And then, in a heartbeat, Pen realized that Chevalier d'Arcy was exactly the man she needed, the one man who could help her solve the mystery that had tormented her for too long. But when Pen seeks to recruit him, he proffers a deal she cannot refuse: If she agrees to divulge any information that might be of interest to him, Owen will help unearth the truth behind her own haunting secret-one in which innocence, birth, loss, and deception collide. A secret that may mean Pen has more to live for than just memories of the past and the beloved husband who was taken from her too soon. It is a devil's bargain, but Pen has no choice. And now, as she turns spy and Owen turns detective, both will find themselves drawn into more peril than either imagined...as they battle enemies known and unknown, as they struggle to weave their way through a serpentine world of lies-and as they fight to resist the untamed passion that ignites between them.... Authors: Jane Feather Binding: Hardcover Edition: 1st Publication Date: 2002-02-26 Publisher: Bantam