51,346 Words

Lord Bentham: A man of vision and contradiction. Theologian, merchant, mentor. He takes common girls and trains them to infiltrate the highest circles of society, offering them futures beyond their birthright. For Melanie, his most devoted pupil, that opportunity has arrived. Raised in the cloisters of the Sisters of Charity, Melanie never imagined a life among nobility. But under Lord Bentham’s arcane tutelage, within the secretive Order of the Triple Goddess, she has awakened. No longer the obedient, pious girl, she now understands the power of her allure and the depths of her own desires, embracing the esoteric teachings of sacred sexuality. Now, on the cusp of the social season, a glittering foreign court awaits. With a whisper of magic and the finest gowns, she steps onto the stage, ready to claim her place among the elite. As she forges intimate friendships with the innocent Miss Mary and the charismatic Duke, apprehension remains: Can she find true acceptance in a world that was never meant to be hers? And can her heart relinquish the man who shaped her—the only one who has ever truly known her? Or will she discover that some bonds are never meant to be broken?