Lionel Demarest, the new Duke of Rexford, is in Bath to meet the prospective bride he inherited from his predecessor and bring her to London. But it's her bumbling chaperone, Genevieve Holbrook, who catches his eye, prompting memories of the house party where they first met and she tormented him with her ghastly singing.
When the rebellious bride bolts, leaving the chaperone unchaperoned with the duke, Lionel and Genevieve balk at marrying just to silence gossip. Keen to avoid the siege of matchmaking mamas and their daughters, Lionel instead makes a show of courting Genevieve, teasing and tempting her till she wonders if he's playing her true or false.
Genevieve longs to wed for love, yet fears an old scandal has left her unmarriageable, especially for this devastating duke who makes her insides flutter and glow with desire. But when threatened with the last thing she wants—forced marriage to the rogue who almost ruined her—love can no longer wait. Neither can Lionel, who must now convince Genevieve that she's caught more than his eye—she's captured his heart.