Ryan, you say? Eloise, having withdrawn from society due to a mysterious illness, lives a quiet life in the countryside of Feltham. In place of the bustling city, she has grown deeply enamoured of this tranquil village, with its open spaces and clean air. One day, a new manager arrives at the Blissbury estate, which is overseen by her father. He bears the very same name as Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Wilgrave — the man she has long admired from afar — yet he is an entirely different person. The man fixed Eloise with a look of undisguised contempt. "Not only a thief, but a deviant and a libertine as well. Indulging in secret nights alone with drawings such as these?" In his hand was a sketch of a nude figure, onto which someone had grafted the face from the portrait of Ryan Wilgrave! Eloise was certain of it. The unkempt appearance, the coarse language, and above all — the boorish manner toward women. This man was surely a vagrant who had wormed his way into Blissbury with ill intent. Or worse still, a deserter who had fled his post in disgrace! "You've clearly never seen a model in the flesh, Miss Eloise." He cast a glance downward toward his waist and added, "He's not that small." Their first meeting was, without exaggeration, the worst imaginable.
