The Irish devil - Diane Whiteside

Only sixteen when she discovers that her mother is a spy for the South during the Civil War, Viola Ross desperately tries to conceal her family's dark secret at the end of the conflict she must marry the one man in town who knows - Edward Ross, a drunkard who soon uproots Viola and takes her out West in search of gold. When Edward is tragically killed, Viola survives the best way she can, and ends up becoming partner with another widow in a laundry and dressmaking business, barely making ends meet. When her partner deserts her and her husband's debts threaten to destroy her, Viola offers William Donovan - a self-made Irish man - a deal he can't resist. She offers to be his personal mistress for three months; in return, Donovan agrees to house and feed her, which allows Viola to turn down the advances of Paul Lennox, a treacherous man whom she loathes. As Viola and William start to trust each other - much to both of their surprise - things heat up as Lennox plots to kidnap Viola. But will the growing bond between Viola and her Irish devil prove strong enough to overcome the dangerous circumstances that are headed their way?