Where the Heart Leads Abridged 5/360

Penelope Ashford, Portia Cynster’s younger sister, has grown up with every advantage - wealth, position and beauty. Yet Penelope is anything but a typical ton miss - forceful, wilful and blunt to a fault, she has for years devoted her considerable energy and intelligence to directing an institution caring for the forgotten orphans of London’s streets. But now her charges are mysteriously disappearing. Desperate, Penelope turns to the one man she knows might help her - Barnaby Adair. Handsome scion of a noble house, Adair has made a name for himself in political and judicial circles. His powers of deduction and observation combined with his pedigree have seen him solve several serious crimes within the ton. Although he makes her irritatingly uncomfortable, Penelope throws caution to the wind and appears on his bachelor doorstep late one night, determined to recruit him to her cause. Barnaby is intrigued by Penelope’s story … and by her. Her bold beauty and undeniable brains make a striking contrast to the usual insipid ton misses. And so he accepts her challenge, never dreaming she and it will consume his every waking hour …