When the dutiful debutante stows away in a rake's carriage...
Eloise flees her wedding to a cruel groom in a moment of sheer panic. She's certain her brother's best friend, the notorious Lord Wycliffe, is already out of town when she sneaks into his home. But the famed rake catches her rifling through his desk in search of coin. Of course his loyalty is to his best friend, and he insists on seeing her home.
But really, if Eloise is anything, it's underestimated. So when he leaves her at her doorstep, she feigns a tearful smile as she waves farewell. And then she stows away in his carriage just before he leaves for his journey to the coast.
It's too late to turn back by the time he discovers her. But now that she's under his protection, it's shockingly clear that he'll do anything to keep her safe.
Even if it means marrying her himself.