When He Was Wicked

Michael Stirling has been in love with Francesca Bridgerton since the moment he met her—which is a problem, because that moment was at the dinner where she announced her engagement to his cousin and best friend, the Earl of Kilmartin. For years Michael has hidden his feelings, playing the charming rake while quietly loving a woman he could never have.

When John dies suddenly and young, both Michael and Francesca are shattered, bound together by grief and by a secret Michael can never confess. He flees to India to escape it; she stays behind, a widow far too young. But grief does not last forever, and when the two are finally in the same room again, the feelings Michael buried and the guilt they both carry rise to the surface.

The sixth book in Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series, When He Was Wicked is one of its most emotional entries—a Regency romance about mourning, longing, and daring to love again after loss.