The Duke's Messenger

the long version

ALL THAT SEPARATED ELINOR FROM THE LORD SHE LOVED WAS A WORLD OF PERIL — Elinor Aspinall languished in London when her intended bridegroom, Lord Foxhall, deserted her for diplomatic duties in Vienna. Elinor knew all too well that her bitter rival, Penelope Freeland, was in that romantic city, eager to keep Foxhall company when his working days turned into glittering soirees. Where Elinor was offered the task of carrying a highly confidential document from England to Austria, she leapt at the chance to reclaim her beloved. Little did she dream that she was embarking on a harrowing journey, shadowed by a frightful enemy she could not see -- and protected only by an outrageously attractive man of mystery named Reeves. It was indeed very strange that Reeves, who referred to himself as her humble servant, tended to act more and more like her arrogant master. . . .