New York Times bestselling author Bertrice Small continues her glorious historical-romance series featuring four sisters in Renaissance Florence who have anything but marriage on their minds.... When the Duke of Terreno Boscoso sends word that he's seeking a wife for his heir, Rafaello, Florentine silk merchant Giovanni Pietro d'Angelo and his wife encourage a meeting for their headstrong daughter Francesca. She refuses to even consider it until her father makes her a promise:
If Rafaello does not suit, you may return. She is therefore shocked when Rafaello chooses her as his bride and her parents agree to his proposal--without her consent.
Furious and feeling betrayed, Francesca flees into the forest and takes shelter at an inn. There, she earns her keep as a servant--and meets an unlikely suitor who steals her heart. But how certain can the future be for the runaway bride, who is still promised to another?