A Bid for Independence

the long version

Cherry Sinclair had to come to London, not to enter the whirl of the social Season, but to fulfill her dream of becoming a successful concert pianist. Though she eschewed the ton, Cherry found herself embroiled in social difficulties from the moment she reached town...but how was she to know that her very first audition would take place in a house of ill-repute? And why was the mistress of the dashing Duke of Belcourt, the beautiful Lady Aberlaine, doing her best to sully Cherry's name? And most maddening of all, why was the duke himself always there--with his devastating smile and obliging offers of help--every time Cherry committed a blunder?