3/5; 3 stars; BBoth these stories were written with Mary Balogh's high standard of excellence in style, pacing, etc. They are not as good as some of her more recent books (IMO) but still worth a read. Balogh is good at characterization and she did an excellent job of creating a high functioning sociopath who wrought havoc on the lives around him. Kersey/Rushford was probably the strongest character in the two stories even though he was a truly horrible human being.