The Counterfeit Countess
(2026)(The sixth book in the Second Bloom Romance series)
A Story by Elena Rosewood
The Dowager Viscountess Cleo Wynton is living a lie, and the gilding is starting to crack.
To the world, Cleo is the epitome of Regency grace: wealthy, poised, and untouchable. In reality, she is drowning in her late husband’s debts and selling off the family silver just to keep the candles lit. Her last hope is the pride of the Wynton collection: a Renaissance portrait worth a king’s ransom. But when she summons an expert to appraise it, her carefully constructed façade shatters.
Mr. Thomas Montague deals in beauty, but he knows an ugly truth when he sees one.
At fifty-three, Thomas has left his scandalous past behind for the quiet solitude of his restoration studio. He expects the Viscountess to be just another vapid aristocrat, but he finds a woman on the edge of a precipice. The painting she’s pinning her survival on is a forgery—and a clumsy one at that.
The masterpiece is fake, but the danger is very real.
When Thomas reveals the truth, they uncover a devastating secret: Cleo’s late husband wasn’t just a gambler; he was a thief who swapped the original art for a copy years ago. If the deception is discovered, Cleo faces not just poverty, but prison.
Moved by her desperation and captivated by the fire beneath her icy exterior, Thomas offers his help. Together, they must dive into the shadowy underbelly of the London art world to track down the real painting before the creditors—or the law—come calling. But as they hunt for the lost treasure, Cleo discovers that the most valuable thing she’s found isn’t the canvas, but the rough-edged man willing to risk everything to save her.
Genre: Historical Romance
To the world, Cleo is the epitome of Regency grace: wealthy, poised, and untouchable. In reality, she is drowning in her late husband’s debts and selling off the family silver just to keep the candles lit. Her last hope is the pride of the Wynton collection: a Renaissance portrait worth a king’s ransom. But when she summons an expert to appraise it, her carefully constructed façade shatters.
Mr. Thomas Montague deals in beauty, but he knows an ugly truth when he sees one.
At fifty-three, Thomas has left his scandalous past behind for the quiet solitude of his restoration studio. He expects the Viscountess to be just another vapid aristocrat, but he finds a woman on the edge of a precipice. The painting she’s pinning her survival on is a forgery—and a clumsy one at that.
The masterpiece is fake, but the danger is very real.
When Thomas reveals the truth, they uncover a devastating secret: Cleo’s late husband wasn’t just a gambler; he was a thief who swapped the original art for a copy years ago. If the deception is discovered, Cleo faces not just poverty, but prison.
Moved by her desperation and captivated by the fire beneath her icy exterior, Thomas offers his help. Together, they must dive into the shadowy underbelly of the London art world to track down the real painting before the creditors—or the law—come calling. But as they hunt for the lost treasure, Cleo discovers that the most valuable thing she’s found isn’t the canvas, but the rough-edged man willing to risk everything to save her.
Genre: Historical Romance
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