I hired Thea to protect my niece, not to tempt me into ruin. Her quiet yielding undoes every boundary I have built around this estate and my name.

The court demands perfection from an earl and his governess. But the scarred desk in my study remembers every time I have bent that rule for her.

Tonight the door locks behind us. Her curls fall loose as she faces away from me, skirts still in place, and the air thickens with what I must do next.