Fool's Masquerade — Joan Wolf

A LADY IN DISGUISE

Valentine Ardsley disguised herself as a teenaged boy to take a job as a groom on the magnificent Yorkshire estate of the arrogantly self-assured, imperiously handsome, Lord Diccon Leyburn. But her daring escape from the narrow confines of young ladyhood did not last long.

Valentine was unmasked by Lord Leyburn with shameful ease. Even worse, when Leyburn made her an offer of marriage, he made it insultingly clear that this was a matter of duty on his part, and certainly not desire.

Never would Valentine accept such an odious offer. Instead she would go to London to find a gentleman who would really love her -- even if this meant pretending she could love any man but the infuriatingly irresistible Lord Leyburn in return...

Hero: Lord Diccon Leyburn
Heroine: Valentine Ardsley