Lady Amelia Bertram may have a reputation as the most brazen beauty of the ton, but she shocks even herself when she accidentally - and loudly - derides one of society's most eligible bachelors in the middle of a crowded ballroom. The timing of her faux pas couldn't be worse, for her father is seeking someone to take her off his hands that very night. But when Thomas Armstrong overhears the so-called "Lady" Amelia slandering his sexual prowess in public, he cannot help but accept the dare implicit in her words. To her father's great delight, he offers to take her to his secluded country estate - properly chaperoned, of course - to teach the girl a lesson in ladylike behaviour.