The Gift of Patience by Elizabeth Johns

When a headstrong lady sets out for adventure, she meets resistance at every turn by none other than the man she secretly admires.

Patience Whitford spent the last two seasons watching her elder sisters make grand matches. She is thoroughly apprehensive with the notion of being limited by marriage. But that seems like an inconsequential concern with no prospects on the horizon to follow in her sisters’ footsteps. And to make matters worse, she is uncommonly jealous of all of the military officers she’s befriended and their grand adventures.
When Major Ashley Stuart is assigned to investigate some petty crimes near his brother’s estate in Greenwich, it soon becomes apparent that there is something much larger going on. One of his brother’s wards is always meddling where she doesn’t belong, and he finds her eavesdropping and attempting to help at every turn. The most infuriating part is that he’s enamoured with the obstinate beauty!

When at last he concedes to her involvement, they both get more than either bargained for!