The rake - Mary Jo Putney

A man's past
doesn't have to map his fate, especially when a woman holds the key to his
destiny in this timeless novel by New York Times bestselling author and legend in historical romance Mary Jo Putney.
.
.

Disinherited and disgraced, Reginald Davenport's prospects
cried for a dire end. But fate has given him one last chance at
redemption--by taking his rightful place as the heir of Strickland, his lost
ancestral estate. Davenport knows his way around women, yet nothing prepares
him for his shocking encounter with Lady Alys Weston.

Masquerading
as a man in order to obtain a position as estate manager of Strickland, Alys
fled a world filled with mistrust and betrayal. She was finished with
men--until Strickland's restored owner awakens a passion she thought she
would never feel. A passion that will doom or save them both.
.
.if only they can overcome their pasts.
.
.

"An enduring classic.
.
.a towering landmark in
romantic fiction that is quite simply the very best of the best."
--Romantic Times

"No one writes historical
romance better."
--Cathy Maxwell