A taciturn soldier and a social butterfly --is the perfect home worth the price of a marriage of inconvenience? Blake Montague's draconian temper and clever mind belong on the Continent, decoding French communications. Instead, as the youngest son of a baron, he's terrorizing London ballrooms in search of a wife who will buy the commission he can't afford. Jocelyn Carrington, after years of smiling through the pain inflicted by an uncaring family, has just inherited a fortune. Now she can buy the special home with an aviary her eccentric younger brother needs-but Blake Montague's family owns it. They offer the house if she will marry their son and prevent him from marching off to war. Except Blake will use her dowry to buy his commission. How can Jocelyn gain the home of her dreams while keeping alive a courageous man with a bad habit of attracting trouble? Can Blake believe the beautiful Jocelyn might actually free him from his family's manipulations? Can this wary, cynical pair open their hearts to trust in the power of love?