Eighteen year old Rose Emerson was happy until her father's sudden death threw her life into chaos. Now she's being shipped off to England to live with her uncle - the Earl of Bostwick - who seems to want to marry her off before they even leave Virginia. Heartsick to be leaving her sister and her horse ranch behind, and terrified that if she marries an Englishman she'll never be allowed to return home, Rose vows to remain a spinster. What she didn't count on was Nicholas.Nicholas Ainsworth - Duke of Strathmore - doesn't want to marry just anyone. He wants the one and will remain a bachelor until he finds her. But the constant pressure from all fronts to pick someone becomes unbearable and he escapes with a friend on a trip to America where he encounters Rose.Startled by her beauty and struck by her odd clothing choice and frank speech, Nicholas finds himself bewitched. He tries to convince himself that what he feels is only lust, but the time they spend together only serves to convince him that she is the right woman for him. Rose's stubborn nature makes turning her into his wife a difficult endeavor, further complicated by an attempt on his life.