Best of
Regency-Romance

2005

To Wed a Scandalous Spy


Celeste Bradley - 2005
    So when she drags the unconscious man she accidentally hit with a slingshot home, they arrange a hasty marriage and pack the couple off with best wishes. Armed with a groggy husband and a new future, Willa's pie-eyed optimism has no limits...until she discovers the secret, dangerous world of Nathaniel Stonewell, Earl of Reardon, a.k.a. "Lord Treason."Though Nathaniel is reviled by most of England for his devious plot against the Crown, he is, in reality, a member of an elite cadre of secret royal defenders on a daring undercover mission. He must keep his secrets at all cost, especially from Willa. And yet, he is enchanted...though he stubbornly refuses to surrender to his passion. Far better, he tells himself, to turn his back on love than risk everything for it. Luckily, his bride has other plans...

Two Classic Romances in One Volume: Arabella / The Corinthian


Georgette Heyer - 2005
    

The Perfect Rake


Anne Gracie - 2005
    One of them must marry—and fast. To act as her sisters' chaperone, Prudence invents a secret engagement to a reclusive duke...But when the duke arrives unexpectedly in London, she needs his help to avert disaster....into the arms of a rakeAristocratic Gideon, handsome, rakish and with a strong frivolous streak, casually hijacks Prudence's game, awarding himself a stolen kiss or three along the way. Used to managing sisters and elderly men, Prudence is completely out of her depth with a charming, devious and utterly irresistible rake. And her plot goes terribly—if deliciously—awry...

When Dashing Met Danger


Shana Galen - 2005
    Shana Galen is sure to dazzle readers with her undeniable talent and unique brand of wit and charm. This is an author to watch!Alex Scarston, Earl of Selbourne. Rake. Spy. With his efforts for England in the war against the French suspended, family obligations compel him to investigate the disappearance of Viscount Brigham's son. When the viscount's daughter becomes involved as well, Alex finds himself entangled in a venture that risks both heart and soul.It's not that Lucia Dashing, youngest daughter of Lord Brigham, wants Alex to go away. She just wishes he wasn't always so close—perhaps a few rooms, or streets, or continents between them would bank the heat of her attraction. But when her brother disappears, she's no choice but to engage the earl in a battle risking her brother, her country, and her love.

Indiscretion


Jude Morgan - 2005
    So when Captain Fortune, a well-meaning but profligate ex-soldier in Regency England, tells his daughter Caroline that they are ruined, she automatically starts seeking employment as a governess. Her father, however, has far grander designs for Miss Fortune.…Caro is to become the companion of Mrs. Catling, the rich, fierce widow of her father's old colonel. As Mrs. Catling amuses herself by tormenting her relatives and servants, Caro resolves to make the best of the situation, and soon her beauty and intelligence attract the attentions of male admirers. Surrounded by people with an alarming readiness to reveal each other's confidences, Caroline is exasperated to find herself implicated in their indiscretions. But will Miss Fortune be able to avoid losing her reputation without losing her head? And will she find at least one good man amongst the genteel set who will take her side, and, indeed, her fancy?

The Stonecutter's Daughter


Janet Woods - 2005
    When a ship is wrecked in a storm off the Portland coast, a taciturn stonecutter by the name of Joseph Rushmore sends his rescue dog to haul in plunder. What it brings instead is a baby in a cradle. As Joseph's wife has just given birth to a stillborn child, the couple decide to keep the infant girl. The Rushmores never tell their adopted daughter the truth about her origins, but on the death of Joseph and his wife, when the girl, Joanna, is 16, she finds herself at the mercy of her abusive and violent Rushmore cousins. She is rescued by a middle-aged sea captain, Tobias Darsham, who is making a pilgrimage to visit his wife's grave. When Tobias suggests that he and Joanna should get married, the desperate girl feels she has no choice but to agree. However, soon after the wedding, Tobias gets a nasty shock when he discovers Joanna's childhood cradle - because he carved it himself for his daughter. Horrified at the thought that he might have married his own daughter, Tobias fakes his own death and sets sail for Australia, leaving Joanna in the care of his second-in-command, Alexander Morcant. Finding themselves mutually dependent, Alexander and Joanna's initial animosity gradually dissolves into a passionate attraction. But will she ever discover the truth about her origins?

Waltz With A Rogue


Mona K. Gedney - 2005
    Original.

Drake's Lair


Dawn Thompson - 2005
    Drake, returning from five years at war on the Peninsular, finds Melly gathering herbs on his lush, burgeoning land, confiscates her gathering basket, and forbids her to gather there again.Melly, impoverished by her father's gambling debts, and shunned by the ton after his subsequent suicide, turns to her love of making herbal preparations for her livelihood. Evicted by the strange, brooding earl without explanation, she is determined to find out the reason that no one will tell. Sparks fly when Drake and Melly fall in love. But is love enough to bear the earl's dark secret? Can two so totally different and strong-willed souls at cross purposes ever join, or will that secret tear them apart?

The Regency Lords & Ladies Collection: A Scandalous Lady / The Gentleman's Demand


Francesca Shaw - 2005
    But Lysette, in actual fact, was the highly respectable society lady Miss Camilla Knight, and she would be ruined if anyone discovered her scandalous secret! Courting the beautiful Camilla by day and trying to win his reckless wager by night, when would the earl realize that Camilla and Lysette were one and the same woman?The Gentleman's Demand by Meg AlexanderIf Sophie Firle consented to Nicholas Hatton's outrageous request she would put her life -- and her son's -- in mortal danger. But could she refuse the opportunity to help trap the smugglers who had murdered her husband?Finding herself penniless, and faced with the reality of running a struggling inn, Sophie had no option but to agree to Nicholas's proposal. But the plan also meant that Nicholas would have to be a guest at the inn -- and pose as her admirer! And he proved to be remarkably convincing...

The Seduction of an English Scoundrel


Jillian Hunter - 2005
    To the shock of her distinguished guests, the respectable Lady Jane Welsham is left humiliated at the altar. Yet truth be told, although outwardly ruined she is elated to have escaped marriage to a man she does not love.Enter Grayson Boscastle, the irresistible Marquess of Sedgecroft (and cousin to Nigel). Grayson’s duty is clear: salvage the young lady’s pride and reestablish the family’s good name, while repairing his own tarnished reputation as one of London’s most notorious scoundrels. Their whirlwind affair is the talk of the ton. Yet nothing is as it seems between the bewitching Lady Jane, who knows that her wedding was cleverly sabotaged, and her charming rogue, as they are drawn into an amusing game of seduction and secrets.

Regency High-Society Affairs: The Wagering Widow / An Unconventional Widow


Diane Gaston - 2005
    An Unconventional Widow by Georgina Devon.