A clever plan

A romantic story from the early 19th century with a secret. The novel's two distinctive main characters find themselves at its center when, as agents, they look behind the scenes of the intelligence service and face the pitfalls of mutual love.
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If Miss Laura Hopkins wanted a husband, her beauty, wit, and wealth would help her get anyone she wanted. But Laura prefers to use her strengths for other activities. Under the pseudonym Lady Sterling, she helps women who have been abused or abused by their employers. At the moment when she has the biggest prey in front of her, she is unexpectedly helped by a gentleman who claims to be Lord Sterling. Captain Jeremy Adison, Viscount Sterling, working in the Royal Intelligence Service, is often entrusted with the most dangerous tasks. None, however, are as complicated as Lady Sterling's case. The pair are forced to pose as newlyweds in the house of a disreputable count. They form an unexpected alliance, but at the same time, a passionate desire ignites between them. But can a dangerous pretense lead them to true, lasting love?