She cannot risk ruin . . .

Once the Duchess of Cleere, Lady Edlyn is now a widow. After suffering a humiliating scandal, she is forced to take refuge in an abbey, where she uses her skills as an herbalist to heal injured soldiers. When she's asked to tend to the wounds of a knight who's in hiding, she's shocked to discover he is none other than Hugh de Florisoun-the man she has desired for years. Yet she knows surrendering to the temptation he presents could be her ultimate downfall.

For a night of passion . . .

Renowned for his prowess on the battlefield, Lord Hugh de Florisoun never imagined the day would come that he'd see the beautiful, refined Lady Edlyn working as a common peasant-and in a nunnery, no less. His yearning for her burns as strongly as ever. But Edlyn scorns all his advances. Somehow Hugh must find a way to unlock her heart-before secrets from both of their pasts jeopardize any chance for a future together.