So she leases the Dower House from a kindly baron on a neighboring estate, believing that she has successfully met the greatest challenge of her life.How wrong she is! The kindly baron dies. An orphan arrives, whom Katherine accepts as her nephew. She is determined to provide for him, which means she must forget about love and marry a gentleman with money.There are three possibilities.Her cousin, Sir Clive Brampton, is eager to let bygones be bygones and marry Katherine. She would be able to return to her family home and live a life of financial ease. Her nephew would be provided for and launched into a career deemed suitable by Sir Clive. Can Katherine just accept Sir Clive’s generous offer?The Reverend Mr. Augustus Wharton, the newly arrived vicar, listens attentively to Katherine’s anguished musings over the loss of her brother on a distant battlefield in Spain. There are rumors that Mr. Wharton’s present vocation is a stunning contrast to his past as a hard drinking, gambling rake. Katherine dismisses the rumors and wonders if she could live happily with a man for whom she feels only sisterly affection.Finally, there is the new baron, Lord Henry Dracott. Lord Harry, as he is called, is clearly attracted to Katherine. But in spite of their best efforts to be civil to each other, their disagreements end up in arguments. Although there is mutual attraction, Katherine knows that Lord Harry’s heart is buried with his dead wife.Katherine tries to be a sensible lady and accept a practical marriage. But will her heart let her?

    Until meeting dashing Lord Andrew Pearce brings her respectable, lonely world back to vibrant life! Left alone one night, they give in to their desires only to find their secret passion leads to shock, scandal…and a sudden marriage of convenience!

    Locking away all dreams of the heart, she retreated to a safe family haven. On the shelf and happy to be there, Helena has perfected the art of deterring would-be suitors.Will, Earl of Rastleigh, is the only son of an only son: marriage is his duty. One of the great prizes of the marriage market, he shies away from a cold, society union. While he doesn’t expect love, he seeks something more comfortable. But how to find the woman who will welcome him into her life and her bed, and be a good mother to their children?When Will meets Helena, he is intrigued by her composure, her kindness and her intelligence. As their friendship develops, he realises he has found his ideal wife, if only he can overcome her well-known aversion to matrimonyWill succeeds in slipping past Helena’s guard. Tempted by the thought of children of her own, and encouraged by her mother to leave the shallows where she has lingered so long, she accepts his offer of a marriage based not on dangerous love but affectionate companionship and mutual respect.But is this enough? As Will gets to know his wife better, and the secrets of her past unfold, he realises that they have settled for second-best. Can he change the basis of their marriage? Will Helena risk her heart and dare to love again?

    But he reckons without Alicia's disdain. She's disgusted by Nick's cavalier attitude, unimpressed by his grandeur and wants as little as possible to do with him. Between her newfound role as family charity case and fending off the attentions of both her clueless cousin and the arrogant Nicholas, Alicia Woodley has quite enough to contend with...but when her life is endangered, quite possibly from those closest to her, surprisingly it is Nicholas who seems determined to ensure her safety. As they conspire to uncover secrets that the family wants hidden at all costs, they discover a passion that surpasses all obstacles. 71,200 words

    A marriage of convenience may be Laura's chance to reclaim her future, but she won't settle for anything less than true passion. Can she hope to find it in Philip's arms?

    . .When Aurora Hyatt loses her journal in Hyde Park, her ruin is a foregone conclusion. After all, if anyone discovers her writings, they'll find scandalous fantasies involving the newest rake in Town alongside entirely-too-candid thoughts about her typical dreary suitors. Aurora will either be forced into a loveless marriage with the first nodcock to make an offer, or she'll be assigned a permanent position on the shelf. Oh, dear good Lord. What catastrophe will God smote down upon her next?If Niles Thornton, Baron Quinton, desires to maintain any semblance of his current lifestyle, he must fulfill the requirements his grandfather has set for him. First and foremost: he must marry and begin filling his nursery within the year. When he is nearly barreled over by a racing curricle and a journal flies out to land at his feet, his troubles are over. Inside the journals pages, Quin discovers a scandal waiting to happen. Surely a young lady who would write such brazen things in a journal (and then dare to lose it) must recognize the necessity of a hasty marriage, even if the gentleman making the offer is rather less-than-honorable.In a drunken haze, Quin kisses Aurora on a crowded ballroom floor, necessitating their immediate marriage. Quin's troubles are only beginning, however, as Aurora's writings are soon the focus of both gossip rags and drawing room conversation. When word arrives of an even greater scandal following in his wife's wake, will he prove himself a drunken abuser like his father, or will he become the loving husband of Aurora's fantasies?

    The men of the Maclean Clan are fierce warriors. From the battle of Flodden Field to the waters off the Spanish Coast, they fight to protect their homes and those they love. In this spellbinding Scottish Highland series, the Maclean brothers find unexpected romance with women who heal and stir their souls.  Beloved Imposter: Felicia Campbell has set a plan in motion to escape her wedding to the lecherous old Earl of Morneith—but she’s interrupted when she’s abducted. Her fury turns to curiosity when she discovers her captor is the handsome Rory Maclean, her clan’s hated enemy. And Rory, who has sworn never to love again, finds himself daring to care for the fiery captive who could save his broken soul . . .  Beloved Stranger: Lachlan Maclean rode with King James IV of Scotland to free his country from English tyranny. In the slaughter at Flodden Field, he’s thrown from his horse and awakes to the beautiful visage of Kimbra Carlton, a border woman whose husband was killed by a Scot, leaving her to fend for her daughter alone. Now, she can neither let the wounded Lachlan die nor let anyone know his heritage. But perhaps in healing him, she may heal her own heart . . .  Beloved Warrior: Patrick Maclean spent years enslaved aboard a Spanish galleon. But after he leads his fellow oarsmen in an uprising, he finds himself in charge of not only the vessel but also a fetching young passenger: Juliana Mendoza, the ship owner’s niece. Juliana was bound for a wedding and a man she never wanted. But the more she comes to know Patrick and his honorable clan, the more she realizes that only she can decide her fate . . .

    After the day-long journey, the only place for the weary travelers to sleep is the barn of an over-booked inn with only a single vacancy. Larissa, who has no intention of sleeping on a pile of straw, steps forward, claiming to be newly wed to Sir Randall Trent, baronet and unwitting accomplice in Larissa's scheme for adventure, in order to claim the last empty room. Convinced they will never see one another again and that no one will be the wiser about their little white lie, Larissa and Sir Randall part ways, though not before Sir Randall can bestow upon Larissa a passionate kiss that sends her reeling. Both are surprised to be thrown together again so soon in London for the Season. When their secret is discovered, Larissa and Sir Randall are forced to band together in the face of a crime spree in which Sir Randall is implicated. Life is about to offer Larissa an adventure unlike any she had ever imagined.

    He is weary, cynical, and very bored. Known as the worst rake in England, he finds he has no interest in upholding that distinction, when his friend, the Marquis of Somerset, proposes a bet: "Five thousand guineas says that seducing Miss Elise Edwards will cure your ennui." Because his friend has just lost a packet to him, he agrees that the bet be posted in White's famous Betting Book.The following day, while walking in Green Park, he spies a mysterious young woman, veiled, and obviously grieving. A disembodied voice, sounding strangely like that of his late adjutant, informs him, "The jig is up. That is the girl you are going to marry!" He scoffs, but is nevertheless intrigued by something about the slight figure. He even sketches her and asks if he can be of assistance to her. She declines his offer kindly.At the opera that evening, he is captivated by a beauty across the Opera Hall. He hears the same voice, saying the same thing. The marquis informs him that the woman in question is Miss Elise Edwards. When he meets her, he recognizes her voice as that of the woman in the park. Now she is surrounded by a surfeit of ex-fiance's, one of them dangerously unbalanced. Ruisdell discovers an actual bond between them which renders him honor bound to protect her.Thus begins a train of unstoppable events--dangerous, humorous, devilish, and amorous--that carry his life along at such a pace that the duke soon knows not whether he is on his head or his heels. And then there is that bet . . .

    A beauty resisting love. Almost seven years ago the young Duke of Calderbrook left England for the self-imposed exile that seemed the only way to save his life. Now Cal is back, a grown man bent on taking back his birthright and discovering who so nearly killed him – even if they prove to be someone he loves. The truth, revenge, then a suitable marriage are Cal’s aims, but his determined quest is stopped in its tracks by Society beauty Sophie Wilmott. He wants Sophie and Sophie, armoured against love by her own secrets, wants Cal. He needs to keep her safe, she needs to guard her heart – but death is waiting at the heart of the Duke’s great house and only courage and love are going to give them the strength to overcome it.

    To prevent scandal - and protect Lady Amelia Jacoby from her parents' ire - he must propose. John's ability to trust vanished when his former love married his twin brother. Yet he offers Amelia everything she could want - except affection. Amelia sees John's true nature shine through when he cares for his horses. But the brooding aristocrat seems determined to keep her at arm's length. Little by little Amelia will turn Hollyoak Farm into a home, but can she turn a marriage of convenience into a joyful union? The Master Matchmakers: Wedding bells will ring when downstairs servants play Cupid for upstairs aristocracy

    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.

    But when the man she's loved since her girlhood returns from a long spell abroad, she quite suddenly finds herself hoping the fine lord her brother has picked for her won't propose. She decides that if he does, she'll quite improperly turn him down—that is, until the man of her hopes and dreams informs her he has no intention of marrying her.The last time Tristan Nesbitt saw Alexandra, he was a common man with no hope of ever wedding the daughter of a marquess. Seven years later, he's now Lord Hawkridge, which should make him eminently suitable for the woman who long ago captured his heart. But a dreadful scandal has tarnished his name in England—a scandal so horrid that marrying Alexandra would ruin not only her flawless reputation but her whole family. For Alexandra's own good, he must fight his relentless desires and stay far away…

    . . but won a treasure. Due to a lost wager, the Duke of Ravenham is obliged to bring a pretty little nobody from the country into fashion among the high-sticklers of London Society. Ravenham would never refuse a debt of honor, no matter how unorthodox, so he overlooks Miss Gordon's vulgar relations to do what is necessary, escorting the unsophisticated chit to balls, etc. But what he expects to be an irksome duty turns out to be something quite different as he falls under the spell of his protege's innocent charm. When he lost that wager, he definitely never counted on losing his heart as well! First impressions can be deceiving. Miss Gabriella Gordon only came to London at her mother's and sister's insistence, for she'd much rather assist in running her father's veterinary practice than attempt to fit into fashionable society. No sooner has she arrived in London than the exalted (and exceedingly handsome) Duke of Ravenham comes to call. The reason is less than flattering, however: due to a lost wager, the Duke is forced to bring Gabriella into fashion, a "favor" she would certainly refuse if her family would let her. But the more time she spends in the dashing Duke's company, the more conflicted she feels-- particularly when she discovers they have more in common than she ever dared dream. A sparkling traditional Regency romance from bestselling author Brenda Hiatt.

    In winning the dare, will she also lose her heart to the duke?