France and London, England - 1798

They call her the Black Widow.

She visits The Devil’s Chateau, a dark and horrendous prison, in the dead of night, chooses one man, and takes him away to do her bidding. That man is never seen again.

With each prisoner she aids, the mystique of the “Black Widow” grows, a well-crafted disguise that suits the Countess Fleur Fontaine’s purpose well. Dressed in black with heavy veils, no one ever sees her face. And deep inside the dark bowels of the prison, she hands across the money, the guard hands over his prisoner, an empty grave is dug outside the prison walls, and the warden is no wiser. For now.

With each bag of gold coin she hands the prison guard, Fleur avenges her husband’s death at the hands of Napoleon’s consorts. Rescuing Reed Harwood from Devil’s Chateau pleases her, and for such a small thing, she has done her part for her country. Thankfully, Fleur is just in time to save Harwood. This man hovers so near death that she’s sure another fortnight lying in prison filth would have killed him. Even the doctor who examines him back at her cottage holds little hope for his recovery. Starvation has eaten away at Reed’s body, and he now lies emaciated and practically unconscious in Fleur's upstairs bedroom.

When English undercover spy Reed Harwood disappears in France, the government sends another undercover operative, Countess Fleur Fontaine, to find him and smuggle him back across the water to England. The Devil’s Chateau was simply the last place anyone thought to look for him. Reed is one of the best operatives in France; he's always careful, speaks fluent French, and he’s much too clever to be caught, until he finds himself betrayed. And he knows that the traitor is one of their own. Once back in England, Reed is much too thin, but on the mend. He is determined to find the man who sold him out, but first, he must attend to the affairs of his household. What he cannot forget is Fleur and the spell she cast over him. Always somewhat of a rogue, Reed now has no desire for other females. He only wants Fleur.

But even though Reed is prepared to pay THE PRICE OF PLEASURE, Fleur refuses to leave French soil. She has a score to settle, and even if she loves Reed, she knows he will never marry her. His position requires a wife who can give him an heir, and she can never do that. Reed wants Fleur for his own, and he refuses to turn his back on her when her life is in danger. Somehow, he is determined that they be together -- no matter what.

The secondary characters are many, but Fleur and Reed's story takes center stage. Fleur's friends and partners, Lisette, Gaston, and Antoine, are her lifeline and her saviors in France. They are devoted to her, but only Lisette sails to England with her. And once on English soil, Fleur finds much antagonism in the persons of Reed's sister-in-law, Helen, her sister Violet, and his cousin, Gallard Duvall.

Passion abounds in this story of love. Reed and Fleur face much opposition in their struggle to pay THE PRICE OF PLEASURE. This story is a rare gem for your keeper shelf. Don't miss it!

Diana Risso