Great Rivalry of 1881

Two Brothers, Once Woman & A Scandal When Lord Hamilton was thirteen, he lost his heart to the one woman his brother couldn't have: Lisette Fuller. For ten years, while his rakehell brother Eddlewood chased other scandals, Hamilton's quiet devotion never wavered. He has driven away every other eligible woman in London, waiting for a chance to find and marry the only one who ever mattered.Lisette, ten years older, has found a peaceful life in Canterbury as a governess to her young cousin. Her brief, unsettling encounter with the predatory Lord Eddlewood is a closed chapter. She believes herself safely on the shelf, content to navigate society's judgments on older women while preparing her charge for a London debut she herself will never have.She is wrong on all counts.A chance encounter with Eddlewood quickly and efficiently ruins her, crushes her self-esteem and frightens her into silence, the power to slander her in his grip. But just as quickly he appeared does he disappear completely. Lisette has been holding her breath ever since.When Hamilton finally finds her at a London soirée later that Season, it is a miracle. To him, she is more beautiful than memory. To her, he is a charming, dashing stranger whose intense focus is both thrilling and bewildering. Sparks fly instantly, creating a delicious scandal: the governess is the one in desperate need of a chaperone.But Hamilton carries a secret that threatens their fragile new beginning: he is Eddlewood's brother. He knows his only chance is to make her love him for the man he is now, before revealing the boy he was then. He navigates this tightrope of omission with agonizing care, knowing one misstep could ruin everything.Their hard-won happiness is shattered when Eddlewood resurfaces in Brighton, having no intention of letting Lisette go. Seeing Hamilton with the woman he's twice failed to claim, he is determined to have her now—by any means necessary. As the brothers' bitter rivalry explodes into open war, Lisette and Hamilton are forced to confront a brutal past they've kept hidden from each other.To build a future, they must first survive the fallout. And the only foundation left is a terrifying, necessary vow: to finally tell the whole truth.A story of a lifelong love, a secret identity, and the devastating moment when the past arrives to collect its due.