BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Mary Balogh's The Secret Mistress.Mary Balogh has no equal when it comes to capturing the complex, irresistible passions between men and women. Her classic novel, The Secret Pearl, is one of the New York Times bestselling author's finesta tale of temptation and seduction, of guarded hearts and raw emotionand of a love so powerful it will take your breath away. He first spies her in the shadows outside a London theatre, a ravishing creature forced to barter her body to survive. To the woman known simply as Fleur, the well-dressed gentleman with the mesmerizing eyes is an unlikely savior. And when she takes the stranger to her bed, she never expects to see him again. But then Fleur accepts a position as governess to a young girland is stunned to discover that her midnight lover is a powerful nobleman. As two wary hearts igniteand the threat of scandal hovers over themone question remains: will she be mistress or wife?