They should have a son and if it can be managed, he should be handsome. Cleverness isn’t important. Daughters in limited quantities are fine so long as they are pretty. Bastards are inconvenient and best ignored. It's not a big problem, unless you are one. Unfortunately, Sophy is. Sick of her outcast role, she escapes her father’s house, only to fall from her horse during a spring storm. Injured, soaked, and shivering, she stumbles to a stranger’s door—Tom, a blunt edged merchant from a family of vulgar upstarts. Mistaking Sophy for the genuine article, he takes her in. Sophy can’t resist twisting the truth. Soon she’s caught in her own snare—and it might just be a noose.

    In the sleepy village of Hawcombe Prior, the five young ladies of the Book Club Belles Society are looking for their own leading men. When handsome, mysterious Darius Wainwright strolls into town, the Book Club Belles are instantly smitten with his brooding good looks and prideful demeanor. It's as if he walked out of the pages of their favorite new novel, a scandalous romance called Pride and Prejudice. But Miss Justina Penny has a secret – she's met this arrogant, brooding bachelor before. In Bath. The town, not the tub. Although, she was naked...

    After six London Seasons as a wallflower, she convinces her parents that she should be allowed to use her dowry to buy a bookstore in Bath where she can live her life the way she wants.Lord Grayson, Earl of Berkshire, has never gotten over his deceased wife’s betrayal with his own brother. He plans to make his life all about his son, Michael, who is deaf. When Grayson’s sister-in-law serves him with court papers declaring Michael incompetent with the intention of having her own son named as Grayson’s rightful heir, he turns to Addie, a dyslexic bookstore owner, for help.Addie takes a personal interest in helping the boy. However, as time passes, Grayson and Addie’s joint venture to keep Michael from being declared incompetent leads to feelings and desires neither one of them expected.Or necessarily wanted.

    Eight years later, she has her life in order: a fulfilling business, a few trusted friends, and no plans to return to London society. What she doesn’t expect is to come face to face with her past.A Lord Betrayed by One…Brock Spencer, Earl of Haversham, only wants vengeance. Recently returned from his military service to the King, his plans include repairing his family estate, finding a bride, and destroying the girl responsible for the untimely death of his twin brothers. What he doesn’t anticipate is falling in love with the only woman who should never be part of his future.An Impossible Match, Destined to Be…

    THE LESSON PLAN is the first novella in the Lords of Lancashire trilogy. The first three chapters of HOT UNDER THE COLLAR, the secord Lords of Lancashire novella, is included at the end of this volume.COVER COPY:Despite her imminent debut, Miss Winifred Langston has no interest in trying on expensive ball gowns, learning intricate dance steps, or perfecting the one piece she can play on the pianoforte. Freddie would rather don a pair of breeches and go target shooting, fishing, or horseback riding—astride—than be anywhere near a ballroom or high tea. Rather than waste the last few days of her freedom on such pursuits, she invites her two closest friends to join her in one final caper.When Lord Conrad Pearce learns of Freddie’s plans, he decides it’s past time to teach his younger brother’s partner-in-crime a well-deserved lesson. But when he intercepts her, disguised as a highwayman, to demonstrate how dangerous and ill-advised her stunts are, he can’t resist the sensual beauty hidden beneath the maddening tomboy’s exterior. What began as one sort of lesson becomes quite another, as Conrad embarks on a comprehensive erotic tutorial of his surprisingly enthusiastic and adept student.Now, he only has to convince the irrepressible Freddie to trade her breeches and madcap ways for the gowns and domesticity she despises.

    After a night of passion, the two are separated. With nothing but the alias Jane used to protect her family, Lord Edward is unable to find the woman he cannot forget.Seven years later, Jane courts scandal by serving as the unofficial surgeon in the village of Marston Vale. When Edward arrives to formalize his betrothal to a viscount's daughter in accordance with his late father's wishes, Jane has no choice but to watch the match proceed. When a threat from the past emerges, Jane must join forces with Edward to safeguard her loved ones. But at what risk to her heart?

    The innocent he's selected, however, has no plans to settle for anything less than marriage and will go to almost any length to secure him. With no other means for an income, the impoverished Andrew Black, Earl of Townson, makes an agreement that will put a definite end to his eight year poverty streak. But, in order to gain his fortune he must do only one simple thing: ruin an innocent young lady’s reputation enough to make her flee to America.Brooke Banks isn’t interested in marriage, or so she thinks. She came to London to have a good time, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Widely known for her tendency to flout the rules, she suspects nothing when a handsome stranger appears on her doorstep. Thirteen days, a handful of kisses and one scandalous situation later, Andrew and Brooke will have to choose to stick to their original plans, or decide if a life together is worth the risk. ***This is a full-length novel, approx. 100,000 words.

    He lives for the moment, indulging in temporary pleasures. Until Lady Caroline Seton sets her eyes on him and the heat of her gaze lures him in. Now he wants more than one stolen kiss, he wants forever. But Caroline hides a dangerous secret, one that could cost him his life. Will his love be enough to save them both...?Genres: Dark Fantasy / Vampire / Historical / Regency

    Even more shockingly, her refusal came on the heels of her scandalous behavior: she and her betrothed were caught in a most compromising position. Leaving her reputation in tatters and her motivations a mystery, Helen withdrew to a simple life in a little village among friends, where her secrets remained hers alone. For reasons of his own, Stephen Hampton, Lord Summerdale, is determined to learn the truth behind the tangled tale of Helen's ruin. There is nothing he abhors so much as scandal - nothing he prizes so well as discretion - and so he is shocked to find, when he tracks Helen down, that he cannot but admire her. Against all expectations, he finds himself forgiving her scandalous history in favor of only being near her. But the bitter past will not relinquish Helen's heart so easily. How can she trust a man so steeped in the culture of high society, who conceals so much? And how can he, so devoted to the appearance of propriety, ever love a fallen lady?

    Hamilton Beckett, the catch of the season. The only problem? She's never actually met Hamilton. Fortunately, one of her oldest and dearest friends, Mr. Henry St. James—who has returned to New York after a two-year absence—does know Hamilton. Much to Henry's chagrin, Charlotte immediately ropes him into helping her meet Hamilton. However, none of her plans to catch Hamilton's eye go as she expected, and she is even more confused when her old feelings for Henry begin to resurrect themselves. In the midst of the mayhem Charlotte always seems to cause, she wonders if the gentleman of her dreams might be an entirely different man than she thought.

    Forced to leave the only home she's ever known, she works for a cruel employer who brutally takes the one thing she has left - her dignity. When she is banished from London, she is certain God has turned his back on her. John Bradshaw was a successful businessman whose untamed spirit sometimes wanted more. When he is betrayed by those closest to him, he loses everything - his wife, his business, even his freedom. John's and Hannah's paths are about to cross. Aboard a ghastly, nineteenth-century prison ship from London to Australia, John and Hannah must keep hope alive and trust God's unconditional love.

    When Barnaby is summoned to assist Inspector Stokes of Scotland Yard in investigating the violent murder of a gentleman at a house party, Penelope, frustrated that she cannot participate, insists on a detailed report – and promptly arranges a private dinner party so that she and Griselda, Stokes’s wife, can be duly informed of their husbands’ discoveries.But what Barnaby and Stokes uncover only leads to more questions. The murdered gentleman had been thrown out of the house party days before, so why was he returning? And how and why did he come to have the fabulous Finsbury diamond necklace in his pocket, much to Lord Finsbury’s consternation. Most peculiarly, why had the murderer left the necklace, worth a stupendous fortune, on the body?The conundrums compound as our intrepid investigators attempt to make sense of this most baffling case. Meanwhile, the threat of scandal grows ever more tangible for all those attending the house party – and the stakes are highest for Lord Finsbury’s daughter and the gentleman who has spent the last decade in darkest Africa striving to resurrect his family fortune so he can aspire to her hand. Working parallel to Barnaby and Stokes, can our would-be lovers find a path through the maze of contradictory facts to expose the murderer, disperse the pall of scandal, and claim the love and the shared life they now crave?A pre-Victorian mystery with strong elements of romance. A short novel of 39,000 words.An entry in The Casebook of Barnaby Adair series, the events in this short novel occur between the events described in the full-length novels, WHERE THE HEART LEADS and the upcoming THE MASTERFUL MR. MONTAGUE.

    The world, she had noticed, expected nothing more from women than that they be submissive, demure brood mares, allowed absolutely no rights or even opinions of their own. And yet, at twenty, an age at which most of Society considered her well past her prime, she need only wait a little longer to be safe. No—she was fairly comfortable declaring—she would never marry, no matter the temptation set before her.He Would...With a flashing green gaze potently combining warmth, humor and seductive promise, Trevor Christian Caldwell was resisted by few women. When one factored in the earldom of Huntwick and his legendary charm, his conquests became all the more indubitable. But never had there been a woman he truly respected. Not until now. Here, in Pelthamshire, a spirited redhead forced a decision he had never before considered: He would marry Grace Ackerly, no matter what protestations, no matter what travails.It was yet to be seen who would prevail. And how.

    Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham.Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...

    But Lady Jocelyn Rathbourne's will remains strong. If the only way to save her family's estate and reputation is by aiming a small pistol at the Duke of Calydon, then so be it. For Lady Jocelyn demands satisfaction - and she will have it at any cost. Even if it means demanding the hand of the intense and foreboding Duke himself... But she's made the first move against a very dangerous opponent... For Sebastian Thornton is no stripling to be trifled with. The lady has played her hand. Now it's his turn. For Sebastian is in need of a wife. And to find a wife with spirit and fire - even if she means to only marry for his money - would be a great prize indeed. And he intends to thoroughly take his pleasure with her... and demands his own satisfaction in return.