The cruellest fate for a man…

Lord Peregrine Fitzroy once toyed with his peers with the ease of a man playing chess. His mother’s treason, however, reduced him to a pawn. Surviving accusations of her crimes came at a price. When a foreign prince falls ill at Peregrine’s first appearance since returning to English soil, he can’t help but suspect the poison was henbane. The same poison his mother used to kidnap Lady Charity Cresswell—the woman now threatening to burn his life to ashes.

…is wanting a woman he could never have.

Lady Charity’s first season was fraught with scandal, but marriage and convenient widowhood saved her reputation from certain ruin. As lady-in-waiting to the Queen, Charity is in an excellent position to reclaim her status as a diamond of the first water… and plot revenge upon the Fitzroy family. But she, too, recognizes the prince’s symptoms, and suspects Peregrine has returned to court to conduct some nefarious intrigue.

Lives and the fate of a nation are at stake.

Twists and secrets shroud a conspiracy to prevent the Crown’s political alliance through marriage, and it is far more dangerous than anyone expected. The intrepid duo find themselves forced into a partnership to solve the crime and discover the identity of the hidden hand at work. But can there ever be a second chance for redemption—let alone love—between the star-crossed Charity and Peregrine? Or will betrayal destroy them both?

Find out in the book Brilliance and Betrayal. Available on KU, ebook, and paperback April 1, 2025.