To discourage him, Genista had deliberately let the arrogantly handsome Luke Ferguson believe that she was a promiscuous adventuress. She knew from experience the hurt a man could carelessly inflict on an innocent heart, and she realized how vulnerable she was to his brand of magnetism. Luke's proposal of marriage was a shock, as was his method of asking. It sounded very much like blackmail, and in the circumstances she had no alternative but to accept.