Lady in Red

In this dark and intriguing Victorian romance, Lady Mary Elizabeth Darrel, only child to the powerful Duke of Duncliffe, must fight for survival. After her father abused her mother to death, he sent Mary to an asylum, where she endured three years of being drugged and sexually assaulted. Mary finally escapes and meets Edward, the handsome and influential Duke of Fairleigh, who testified at his own father’s trial for raping and murdering a teen girl. He senses a kindred spirit in Mary and offers to protect and care for her. As Mary and Edward slowly learn to trust each other, they begin a subtle dance of romance and passion, but both harbor lingering doubts and fears that they are simply using each other to achieve vengeance and closure. Readers will be drawn to the determined heroine and her steadfast hero as they navigate a complicated and often terrible world. (Oct.)