title: A Compromised Rake
author: Marks, Giselle
description: Cecily Waldron is under pressure from her stepfather to marry, but the man she loves, Jeremy Charleston, Earl Marlbury, has no plans to marry in the near future. A friend of Cecily’s older brother, he is something of a rake about town. Cecily meanwhile has refused all offers and is trying to avoid the attentions of Lord Colbemere, an ageing roué, who discourages other suitors. After avoiding a trap set to compromise her with the roué, Cecily is aided by Jeremy, when he finds her sobbing in the gardens. When at a house party Cecily finds herself locked in a room, she manages to make a daring escape, and finds herself in a room she thinks is unoccupied. What she does not know is that it belongs to a widow in whom Jeremy is interested…