The Hidden Heart

Disguised as a boy, Melissa Mansfield had thought to stow away in the carriage of an elderly couple who would surely sympathize with her tales of misfortune. But instead she hid in the wrong carriage--and found herself in dangerously close quarters with the Marquis Theron de Lisle, notorious womanizer and libertine--and the last person in England to be taken in by the ploys of a stray ragamuffin... The Marquis studied the filthy scamp he had uncovered through narrowed eyes. That ridiculous costume of hers couldn't hide for an instant the budding curves of her young body. Contrary to popular opinion, de Lisle's decadent habits did not include despoiling mere babes. But he needed someone to help him with his secret government mission--and this outrageous child could play the part to perfection. That is, as long as he remained impervious to her surprisingly potent mixture of innocence and passion...