Miss Vanessa Claxton gave her heart to Lord Crispin Tilson when she was only seventeen. He did not ask for it, but it went willingly. A secret friendship on the cusp of young love, and then he was gone.
Lord Crispin Tilson hadn’t expected that at the age of twenty he’d fall in love with a miss enjoying her first Season. He certainly hadn’t anticipated that their meetings would take place in secret and that nobody would ever learn. But, as much as he wished to be with Vanessa, adventure called, and he had to leave her behind.
Nine years later, they meet once again when Lord Crispin, the finder of all things, and Miss Claxton, the thief finder, are asked to locate a missing gem. Will love bloom again, or will competition and wagers get in the way?
Genre: FICTION / Romance / Regency42 ratings/reviews on Amazon - 4.2 average rating
41 ratings/reviews on Goodreads - 4.3 average
Lord Crispin Tilson stared down into the sapphire eyes of Miss Vanessa Claxton. Her lush, dark eyelashes fluttered closed for a moment, and she took in a deep breath. If she was experiencing even half the emotions rioting within him, then his dearest friend was having just as difficult a time saying goodbye.
But goodbye it must be. Adventure awaited. From the age of twelve he had dreamed of the day when he would board a ship to see the world. It had never occurred to him that he would meet the most remarkable miss who may cause him to question all the plans that he thought had been set. Of course, at the age of twelve, he had given little thought to females and hadn’t particularly liked girls.
Much had changed in eight years, he chuckled to himself.
While leaving his family, England, and London behind was no hardship for Crisp, leaving Vanessa would be nearly impossible.
Yet, he must. He was only twenty and she was but seventeen, though mature, witty, intelligent, daring, stubborn and a bit of a hoyden all packaged into a delightfully beautiful woman. If they were both older, and if Crispin were in a position to marry, he’d do just that and take her with him. But as neither were the case, Crisp needed to leave her behind, and suspected that his heart might remain with her.
