How to Ruin a Reluctant Duke

A mathematical wallflower. An iron-willed Duke. And a scandalous ledger that changes all the rules.Lady Penelope Vance is entirely bankrupt in surprises. The daughter of a late, disastrously idealistic baronet , she survives the treacherous waters of the London ton using the only weapon she has left: an unrelenting gift for mathematics, a sharp slate-pencil, and an absolute refusal to be intimidated. She uses political economy the way other women use smelling salts-to clear a room of undesirable suitors.Julian Thorne, the formidable Duke of Monrose, is a man constructed of ancestral marble and severe, geometric discipline. Haunted by a dark family history and a deep-seated fear of his own lineage , he has built a fortress around his life. He doesn't want warmth; he wants his columns to balance. But to secure the permanent custody of his orphaned nieces, the Chancery court demands an unassailable domestic hearth -something the notoriously icy bachelor entirely lacks