The Nude A Historical Romance
An exhibition of a painting titled The Nude that looks shockingly like Countess Elsbeth Mercer, a young widow, has set all the tongues in Regency London wagging. This isn't the first time the painter, Dionysus, has caused havoc in her life. Though she's never met him, she fell hopelessly in love with him through his haunting landscapes nearly a decade earlier. Like Cyrano de Bergerac using his poetry to lure a woman to love another, Dionysus used his paintings to trick Elsbeth into marrying the wrong man. Refusing to let him hurt her again, she vows to find him and force him to prove her innocence. Nigel, the Marquess of Edgeware, a reclusive but powerful figure in town, has connections to Dionysus and reasons to protect the artist's identity. Soon after Elsbeth begins to search for the artist, Nigel abducts her and insists she accept his help. When she refuses, he decides that seducing her might be the swiftest and most effective means of diverting her attention. While Nigel's playful flirting amuses her, Elsbeth thwarts his attempts to draw her closer until one moonlit night when she is caught breaking into Nigel's study. Suddenly, she is torn between the artist who owns her heart and the man who can set it free.