A Promise of Protection (The Warrington Bequests #3)

A dead woman's wish. A watched widow. A truth worth a fortune to bury.

Harriet, Lady Colbourne, buried her husband and was turned out of his house inside a fortnight. The one kindness left to her — a generous bequest from the late Lady Warrington, a woman she scarcely knew — is held fast behind a condition no one will explain. And from the day she first calls upon the solicitors, Harriet cannot shake the feeling that she is being watched. Someone does not mean for her to have what is rightfully hers.

Benedict, Duke of Blackwood, intends to marry no one this Season — until his formidable aunt reaches out from beyond the grave. Lady Warrington left him more than a memory: she left a letter charging him to stand at Lady Colbourne's side and see her safely through whatever was coming. She was never careless in her life, and Benedict cannot believe she chose him without a reason. He expects a tiresome duty. He finds a widow who will not be managed — frightened and unbowed at once — and a danger closing around her that neither of them yet understands.

The nearer they come to the truth behind Lady Warrington's design, the clearer it grows that someone will risk a great deal to keep it buried — and that Harriet has more to lose than a fortune. Can she trust the man her benefactress chose to guard her? And dare a woman who has only ever been protected learn, at last, to stand beside him?