sum of all kisses, the (mex)

After a duel with dire consequences between two friends, Daniel Smythe-Smith must flee London and his rival, Hugh Prentice, is left permanently crippled. Daniel, vindicated, has been able to return, but Hugh, a brilliant mathematician, has become a bitter man with little patience for the superfluous rituals of high society and no hope of courting one of the high-born ladies who once surrounded him. Much less Lady Sarah Pleinsworth, the irritating and bossy woman tasked with looking after him. To make matters worse, Sarah belongs to Daniel's family, and considers Hugh guilty of many of the tragedies unleashed by the fateful duel. When Sarah and Hugh are together, they are like oil and water. But little by little, the sparks of hatred and resentment between them give way to an increasingly deep attraction, which neither of them can resist.