The Earl and the Bluestocking

A writer of incendiary pamphlets for women's rights, Sibylla Chalfont is an embarrassment to her stepmother and two Society-obsessed stepsisters. Raised by a nearly revolutionary aunt, she has been taught that marriage is a trap, love is an illusion and no woman needs a man complicating her life.

Justin, Earl of Ashlington, has returned to England from America to accept the newly-inherited title. It is impressed on him that it is his duty to marry and beget an heir quickly, so his uncle Sir Peregrine Playfair has arranged an extensive social whirl for him, making sure that he can meet every eligible young woman in Town. Since all he wants to do is return to his beloved estate of Ashlings, which now belongs to him, Justin most reluctantly agrees to stay until Baroness Worsley's Christmas Eve ball before leaving.

These two young people would seem to be both mis-matched and incompatible, but they are no match for Lady Miriam Pontrefact-Watson, Sibylla's godmother, who is accustomed to arranging things as she wishes. Can she make her wishes come true this time?