If a lady is to become a Countess, there are rules...

#1: A lady does not attempt to come out in London society disguised as her deceased half-sister.

#2: A lady does not become enamored of her guardian; even when his masterful kisses and whispered words of affection tempt her beyond all endurance.

#3: A lady may not climb barefoot from her bedroom onto a rose trellis, nor engage in fisticuffs with riffraff even if it is to rescue street urchins.

#4: No matter how impossible the odds, a lady always gives her hand and her heart-though not necessarily in that order-to the one man who sees her as she truly is and loves her despite her flagrant disobedience of the rules for a lady.