When Frances Bumgarten encounters a handsome stranger in her kitchen in the middle of the night, her first impulse is to wallop the scoundrel on the head with a bread paddle. And when Frankie discovers he is 'The Fox,' a disarmingly arrogant purveyor of gossip among England's aristocracy, she's tempted to take a second swing . . . Never mind that Reynard Boulton, nephew of the Viscount Tannehill, is returning her inebriated uncle safely home. This chiseled intruder has sparked an infuriating physical sensation unlike anything the feisty Nevada silver heiress has experienced. In fact, the noblemen of London are so dull, Frankie's sworn off marriage entirely. She will, however, help her younger sister win her own love match-even if it means secretly enlisting Reynard's enquiring mind . . . But secrets, as Reynard knows too well, can be costly. For Frankie is yet unaware that a villainous duke is scheming to claim her-and ruin him. Soon they're racing to uncover the truth-and fueling a passion that won't stay hidden . . .