Can love overcome scorn and scandal of the past?
Francesca Wallingford lives the life of a Gilded-age debutante, dividing her time between Paris, New York City, and the quiet seaside town of Newport, Rhode Island. She knows she’s living a luxurious life, yet sometimes feels trapped by the expectations that go along with it.
When Francesca first meets Count Philippe de la Croix, he turns her head. But then an old friend, Alfred Finley, returns to the society that scorned him years ago. A summer in Newport, with its sequence of balls and cotillions, pits both men in a quest for Francesca’s hand. But what role does love and honor play when Francesca’s mother has her own agenda for her daughter to become a countess?
As Alfred tries to repair his reputation and launch his humanitarian foundation, he learns that the count hides a secret. Can Alfred prove his worth and the count’s deceit before it’s too late?
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11