Book picks similar to
A Gentleman of Substance by Deborah Hale


historical
romance
historical-romance
regency

Bride for the Sake of Duty


Bridget Barton - 2020
    To make matters worse, her new husband leaves right after their nuptials on his first trip overseas. After two years of loneliness, Miles returns and he’s even more handsome than she remembers, but he still remains a complete stranger to her. Could she ever grow feelings for him after all this time? Will she eventually get the one thing she has always dreamt of?Miles Fitzroy craves adventure but he has to get wed to honour his father’s wishes. His wife may be breathtaking, but he has no time to get to know her before he leaves for India. Now that he is finally back home, he finds himself longing for something other than the sea. He realizes that it might be the journey of falling in love that has been missing from his life. Could he ever choose the warmth of his beautiful wife over the exciting life of an adventurer?Two strangers are bound together forever, but it won’t be easy to create a genuine bond after their long separation. A string of mishaps and adventures that follow can either bring them together forever or tear them apart for good. Will Eleanor get her wish for a true, heart-melting romance? Will Miles finally find a place to call home in Eleanor’s eyes?"Bride for the Sake of Duty" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Susanna and the Spy


Anna Elliott - 2011
    She certainly has no intention of contacting her family, who cast off her father and scorned her mother years ago. But a chance encounter with a figure from her past suggests that her estranged grandfather was murdered, and that his death was connected to a local ring of smugglers, led by a mysterious figure who calls himself Captain Clark.When Captain Clark himself appears at her door, wounded and in need of her help, Susanna must decide where her true loyalties lie. And she must also discover the truth of her grandfather's death. Otherwise the man she is rapidly falling in love with may be hanged for treason and murder.

His Impetuous Debutante


Jane Charles - 2011
    It isn’t that she is against marriage and if her situation were different, she would welcome the opportunity for love and children. It is just not practical. Unfortunately, her older brother is smothering any chances she has of actually enjoying the season out of fear her impetuous nature will land her in predicaments more ruinous than the physical mishaps she had suffered at home.Taylor Qualls, the Earl of Sandlin, is forced once again to face his own obligations this season. He has a year and a half to find a suitable bride and produce the heir as dictated in his grandfather’s will. Nobody needs to tell him that Lady Phoebe is the last woman on earth he should marry. After all, given his own track record with wives and Lady Phoebe’s penchant for mishaps, she wouldn’t survive a month as his bride.

Lord St. Claire's Angel


Donna Lea Simpson - 1999
    Never one to bemoan her change in fortune, Celestine is content to spend her days raising and overseeing their children, knowing in her heart she will never have any of her own.Lord St. Claire Richmond, Langlow’s brother, is a rogue and seducer, content to while away his days pursuing pleasure—and driving his brother and sister-in-law mad by reducing their female staff to lovelorn fools with his flirtations. When he learns on his annual Christmas visit that the drab Celestine was hired as governess solely to thwart his dalliances, he devises a scheme to both stir her heart and spite his family’s interfering ways.But as his game unfolds, the cunning St. Claire discovers this conquest may be more challenging than expected when the thoughtful and intelligent Celestine begins to fire an ache in his own heart. And what began as an amusement to give the plain, timid miss an innocent thrill is turning into much more, as St. Claire realizes she may be the one giving him the thrill—and teaching him in a way only a governess can that real beauty lies beneath the surface and that true love is often found where you least expect it.

How to Deceive a Duke


Lecia Cornwall - 2012
    . .When her stubborn sister runs off the night before her arranged marriage, Meg Lynton hardly hesitates before donning the wedding veil and walking down the aisle herself. It's the only way to save her family from sure destitution. By the time her wealthy groom discovers he has married the wrong sister, it will be too late to annul their vows. And too late for Meg to escape her wifely duty to a man reputed to be a devil in battle and the bedroom . . .A bride is the last thing Nicholas Hartley, Duke of Temberlay, wants. Then he sees Meg and realizes that his wedding night will be a great pleasure indeed. But aside from the agreeable business of begetting an heir, Temberlay will never change his wicked ways for a wedding vow—until he discovers Meg's deception, and decides to teach the scheming beauty how to be a proper duchess, kiss by devastating kiss . . .

A Matter of Choice


Laura Landon - 2011
    But he isn’t prepared for the one demand the woman who holds the power to save his precious Graystone makes – that he remain faithful forever. Lady Allison Townsend would rather go to her grave a spinster than marry a man who embarrasses her with his string of mistresses. But when she’s given no choice but to marry one of London’s most well-known rakes and womanizers, she refuses to go to the altar without a stipulation of her own – that the man she marries never share his bed with another woman.But neither Allison nor Joshua is prepared for the dangers they're forced to face and the choices they're forced to make to protect their happiness – as well as their hearts.

Seductive Secrets


Carrie James Haynes - 2012
    Shunned from London society for being the daughter of England’s most notorious spy, Alyce Hythe desires only to clear her father’s name. For years, she has been hidden away from all prying eyes, given a new identity and told to forget who she was. But strange things have been happening causing old rumors to once more be whispered.Long has Lord Julian Casvelyn lived with guilt brought on when his brother was murdered by England’s most infamous traitor. But one eventful night has changed everything Lord Julian believed about his brother’s death. Never did he suspect the woman he has just saved from certain harm is the daughter of that man. Now Julian is caught in midst of a conspiracy and desire for that woman.Thrown together by fate, the two search for answers long denied them and along the way discover a love that can free them both.Previously published as Daughter of Deceit under Carrie James Haynes

Ridiculous!


D.L. Carter - 2012
    Funny. Sexy. Cross Dressing. Not your mother's Regency Romance.After the death of her miserly cousin, Anthony North, Millicent Boarder is determined her family should never be poor or vulnerable again. To protect them she conceals her cousin's death and assumes his identity. Now she must face the Ton and the world as Mr. North and accept the price she must pay for her family's safety -- she will never be loved.Which means, of course, at this point she will meet the perfect man.

Loving the Marquess


Suzanna Medeiros - 2013
    Marry the desperate Louisa Evans, saving her and her siblings from ruin, and produce an heir. But when he proposes, Nicholas doesn’t tell her the real reason they must wed so quickly.They are married when Louisa learns the Marquess doesn’t intend to father his future heir himself. Drawn to her new husband in a way she never expected, Louisa has no intention of agreeing to his scandalous proposition. Instead, she shows him that what is developing between them goes far beyond a typical marriage of convenience.Nicholas never imagined he would fall in love with Louisa. Despite the distance he tries to put between them, one thing soon becomes clear—he will never allow another man to touch her. Even if it dooms his family’s future.

Unbuttoning Miss Hardwick


Deb Marlowe - 2012
    But under the watchful eye of her unnervingly handsome employer, the Marquess of Marland, for the first time Chloe yearns to be unbuttoned! Yet he sees her only as his assistant, the efficient Hardwick-not as Chloe the woman.  Determined to escape Braedon's cold detachment, Chloe leaves. And when he pursues her to London, determined to entice her back, Braedon is utterly unprepared for what he finds there-the real Chloe Hardwick....

The Babe and the Baron


Carola Dunn - 1997
    Alone, pregnant, and facing difficult financial strains after the death of her husband, Lady Laura Chamberlain is protected by her husband's cousin Lord Wyckham, who experiences unexpected feelings for the lovely widow.

The Harlow Hoyden


Lynn Messina - 2014
    It is Emma who is amazed. She has naturally concluded that the man reading in the conservatory must be the country cousin (who else in London would actually read?) and is quite vexed to discover that he is the Duke of Trent himself—imagine, stealing the duke’s prize Rhyncholaelia digbyana under his very nose! But her vexation doesn’t last long. For Emma is a practical young lady with a mission: to end her dear sister Lavinia’s engagement to the villainous (and dreadfully dull!) Sir Waldo Windbourne, and she thinks that the famous libertine is just the man for the job. If he would only seduce her sister away from Sir Waldo…. Well, not seduce exactly, but flirt mercilessly and engage her interest. Perhaps then Lavinia would jilt the baron. The Duke of Trent is resistant, of course. Despite his reputation, he does not toy with the affections of innocents. And besides, it’s not her sister he longs to seduce.

To Save a Sinner


Adele Clee - 2015
    But when his brother inherits the viscountcy and pleads for his return, the opportunity to show his contempt and loathing for the Society who turned its back on him proves to be far too enticing to resist.When the dishonourable Lucas Dempsey steps into the ballroom after a four-year absence, Helena Ecclestone is quick to label the gentleman a murderous rogue. That is until she stumbles upon a secret conversation and feels a moral obligation to see justice done. But while the ladies swoon over his handsome countenance, Helena is determined to look beyond such superficial features, intrigued to find the true character of the gentleman he hides beneath his arrogant façade.

Lord Heartless


Barbara Metzger - 1998
    Overwhelmed by his newly acquired title of Father, the viscount turns to the only expert he knows: Mrs. Carissa Kane.Abandoned by her husband and cheated out of her inheritance, Carissa is forced to work for the viscount's neighbor to support her young daughter. Then a series of events reveals a most sinister plot--and the astonishing fact that Hartleigh indeed possesses a heart after all!

Lord Grenville's Choice


G.G. Vandagriff - 2014
    Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s father brokered her marriage to another. Fancying himself broken-hearted, Alex consented to a loveless union with Lady Felicity, daughter of wealthy Lord Morecombe.Five years into his marriage, his first love is widowed, and Alex’s wife seems to believe he will waste no time making Lady Elizabeth his mistress. As Felicity chooses to live apart from him, a surprisingly difficult choice is thrust upon Alex. Whom does he truly desire—the ethereal Elizabeth or the maddening Felicity?