degree of confidence is when she's on her horse. Unfortunately, a young lady can't spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins-she proposes to Captain Blunt. In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride-and to read-as much as she likes without masculine interference. He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own: Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes…