Lord Anthony Nelthorpe had committed many sins -- not the least of which was his hare-brained attempt to seduce the well-bred Jenna Montague Fairchild into marrying him. But that was three years past, before the war magnified life's conceit; after Waterloo, he who scoffed at honor, was nursed back to health by the very woman he'd wronged, while her husband, a man of honor, Jenna could not save.

Back in London, Tony seized the chance to shake the wealthy young widow out of her frightening apathy -- even if he was the last man on earth she wanted to see. He hit upon a challenge: since Jenna was the instrument of saving his rascal skin, did she not owe it to all those heroes to make a better man of him?

She would train him until Christmas -- the season of miracles. Now Tony just had to figure out how to win this wager without wanting her all over again . . .