Vicky's past with Tom is a complex one as he up and left their friendship five years ago without so much as a word.

Tom has returned home after a long time overseas and now has his father's title.

Not only did a stranger attack her, there was also a serious accident, but thankfully, her neighbor and former friend, Tom Sherborne, helped her in both cases. Strange things have been happening at her family's estate. Althea has plans to legally separate from her husband, but it's a tricky undertaking, especially for the Regency time period. Now the pressure is on Victoria, also known as Vicky, to marry well, because if something happens to Vicky's father, Althea's dreadful husband will inherit it all. He is an abusive monster and she narrowly escaped his claws. Apparently, he isn't the nice guy the family thought he was. Lady Victoria's life is turned upside down when her sister, Althea, leaves her Viscount husband and returns home. Most unfortunately of all, Vicky’s books are silent on the topic of the mysterious accidents cropping up around her…ones that could prevent her from surviving until her wedding day.' Silby, he of the unfortunate fashion sensibility. Carmichael is indeed a scoundrel, if her former best friend, Tom Sherborne, is out for her dowry or for her heart, or even how to fend off the attentions of the foppish Mr. Sadly, Miss Austen has little to say about Vicky’s exact circumstances: whether the roguish Mr. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved novels by Jane Austen, she enters society’s treacherous season. But now Vicky must marry-or find herself and her family destitute. Goodreads says, ' Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home.

Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen