In the glittering, treacherous world of Mohawks, love, reputation, and power are bound together by scandal and secrecy. Lord Lavendale returns from Ringwood Abbey more captivated than ever by Judith, now Lady Topsparkle, while directing his deepest hatred toward her husband, a man whose polished manners seem to hide a sordid, possibly criminal past. As Irene is drawn back into London society, she enters a realm of gambling, vanity, and ruthless performance, where beauty and wealth matter less than wit and social ease. Around her, politics and fashion collide in drawing rooms alive with talk of Walpole, court favor, and the ruined ambitions of great men, while celebrated figures such as Voltaire, Swift, and Bolingbroke add brilliance to a world shadowed by vanity and private sorrow. Judith herself becomes the dazzling center of this society—arrogant, witty, and outwardly triumphant, yet inwardly consumed by her enduring love for Lavendale. Their mutual passion flickers beneath public flirtation, from charged conversations and literary teasing to a moonlit escape plan at Vauxhall Gardens that could carry Judith to France. But with Mr. Topsparkle watching, suspicion growing, and social ruin always near, every gesture carries the risk of exposure in this seductive novel of romance, class, jealousy, and moral consequence. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
