MY BREATH BELONGS TO THE COLONEL. I was a shadow in the hallways of Wentworth Hall. I was a maid with dirt under my nails and no future. Then the Colonel returned from the front lines. Thomas Anderson is a man of cold steel and absolute power. He did not court me. He conquered me. He declared me his bride to spite the world. Now my life is a series of rigid commands. He forces me into silk and lace that feel like armor. The stays of my corset are cinched until my ribs ache. He demands an eighteen-inch waist and a spirit that bows only to him. I am his project. I am his prize. The high society vultures want to tear me apart. Lucien King waits for me to stumble. He wants to expose my common blood and ruin us both. Thomas is the only thing standing between me and total destruction. His discipline is harsh. His gaze is a brand. I am trapped in a gilded cage of his making. I thought I wanted freedom. Now I only want his approval. He has stripped away the girl I used to be. He has replaced her with a lady of ice and fire. I will face the ballroom with a spine of steel. I am his singular obsession and his final conquest.