Miss Julia Beaumont has exactly one night to find herself a husband . . . The Weatherford Ball is the last chance Julia Beaumont has to escape the clutches of her horrid stepmother. Any potential husband will do--rich, poor, even a reasonably well-groomed walrus. But all of Julia's matrimonial chances are completely obliterated . . . thanks to the actions of an infuriating and utterly rakish duke. Gregory Carter, Duke of Ashworth, would never risk his cherished bachelorhood by flirting with marriage-starved debutantes. But one look at the luscious and refreshingly clever Julia, and he simply can't resist a stolen kiss--scandal be damned. Then just as things start getting deliciously interesting, the lady flees . . . leaving only a slipper behind. And it must have been one dandy of a kiss. Because now Julia has proposed to him. After all, the lady needs a husband, and this roguish duke will certainly do. It's simply a matter of making him the perfect scandalous offer . . . Contains mature themes.