Young women were forbidden to leave the house without a maid. They were forbidden to ride the mail coach all by themselves. They were forbidden to call upon any gentleman in his home, even with a maid. Annabelle Mayhew, recently made into a penniless orphan, knew all these things and more. Fate had given her no choice. She had come to London on her own find out. Was the old promise to be honored? Joseph Waring, the new Lord Canfield, was having a devilish time sorting out his supposed inheritance. His misplaced very considerable inheritance that made him the target of every husband-hunting momma in the ton. Women with minds like accountants and the determination of field generals. Young ladies flopped on his front steps on a regular basis. Now, one was flopped on the rug in his library. She was claiming to be his uncle's goddaughter. His uncle had had a thing for pretty maids. He had collected them. He wondered, had his uncle also collected goddaughters? And where in blazes had he hid his money?