Beguiled — Sorcha MacMurrough

Fresh up from the country to visit her brother in London, Miranda Lyons Dane gets involved in a daring prank thanks to the notoriously wanton Georgina Jerome. The seemingly harmless game turns dangerous as Miranda is attacked by a cutpurse. Her rescue at the hands of the mysterious George Davenant leaves her certain she is out of the frying pan and straight in the fire, for no man has ever made her feel the torrid heat of desire.

Yet George is only ever spoken of in hushed whispers, for he is reputed to be the most vicious criminal mastermind the capital has ever seen. Suddenly all of the assumptions Miranda had ever made about her life are turned upside down. George offers her the role as his leading actress in the ramshackle theatre he manages.

Despite her fears, Miranda takes the job, and finds herself growing ever closer to her enigmatic but handsome employer. George is a master of many roles and disguises, the only way he can ever keep one step ahead of the peril that dogs his heels. Miranda's entrance into his cold, hard world brings a warmth he never dared dream could be possible for a man with his dark past.

Soon the forces which have demanded George make the most hellish choices of his life threaten to take from him the woman who has come to mean more to him than life itself. Can George save Miranda, or will the two of them be torn apart forever?