Gilded Heiress

In 1880, an infant vanishes from the Pendelton family, the wealthiest in America, and is never found. Years later, in New York City, eighteen-year-old Josie Smith sings on street corners for coins. Abandoned as a baby, she grew up in a children's asylum and has no idea that her face could be worth a fortune.

Leo Hardy is a con man with a grudge. He blames the Pendeltons for ruining his father, and he sees a way to hurt them while getting paid: train Josie to pass as the lost heiress and collect the family's reward.

The plan moves Josie out of the streets and into the mansions of Gilded Age high society. Leo and Josie are thrown close together as they rehearse the lie, and what begins as a job turns into real feeling. Both of them are hiding things, and those secrets could bring the whole scheme down before the truth about the kidnapping comes out.

This is a historical romance set in the 1880s, inspired by the Anastasia legend. It reads as a con-artist story with a slow-burning love affair at its centre, moving between slums and ballrooms. It is a standalone, so no earlier books are needed.