But when he finally fetches his bride-to-be from a secluded English convent, he finds he needs more than his knight's spurs to bring order to his life.When she was betrothed at fifteen to the legendary English knight she had never met, Lady Clio of Camrose believed that love was something magical. But her youthful hopes faded as she languished in a convent for six long years, never hearing a word from Merrick.Weary of war, Lord Merrick finds little peace guarding the wild Welsh borders, and even less with the wife whose trust he destroyed. But as Lady Clio comes to understand the dark knight she so blindly wed, she sees a chance to make her dreams come true. Amid the enchanted mists that envelop Camrose Castle, they will battle together to discover a place where all things are possible, even a love that is rare and wonderful.

    Never in my life have I backed down from any challenge or betrayed so much as a hint of fear—until the war ended and I found myself a reluctant papa to a dozen unruly children.Realizing that I couldn't lop their little heads off or throw them in the dungeon, I sent my steward out to find them a mother and me a bride—an attractive, meek, maternal creature too plain to tempt me to get her with child. You can imagine my horror when he returned with Lady Willow of Bedlington, a spirited beauty who made me think of nothing else!With her cloud of dark curls and the sparkle of passion in her eyes, Willow was everything I'd sworn to resist. I never dreamed she would join forces with those mischievous imps of mine to teach this cynical warrior just how sweet surrender can be.Bannor the Bold,Lord of Elsinore

    Of course, she is not addlepated enough to do this openly and scare away her wealthy collectors. So she and her friend concoct a deception, hiring a handsome and charming front man who will do her bidding... All would have proceeded smoothly--if it weren't for the maddening interference of Darius, the arrogant Earl of Southwaite, who has been her father's "silent partner" and now shares ownership of Fairbourne's. An earl, of course, has no interest in running an auction house--and Darius is certainly not interested in allowing the lovely Miss Fairbourne to run it either, her ludicrous scheme notwithstanding. Clearly the business must be sold. But the headstrong Emma is like no other lady he has ever encountered, refusing to follow his dictates. Holding his temper in check, Darius decides to attack on a different front. There is another way to achieve her surrender, one far more pleasurable for both of them...

    Her only desire in life is to remain independent, free from men and the shackles of marriage. But when Maybelle lays eyes on Edmund Worthington, the Duke of Rutherford, at a soir e, and hears of his scandalous reputation, she decides he's the perfect person for her to have a tryst with no strings attached.IT MUST BE GIVEN.Unbridled passion has again muddied Edmund Worthington's family name. After his very public dalliance with the strikingly beautiful and sensual Maybelle, his mother insists he marry her. But much to the Duke's surprise, Maybelle scoffs at his proposal. Never has he encountered such a brazen—and maddeningly irresistible—woman. But when Maybelle's grandmother falls ill, forcing Maybelle to take over the operation of her school, Edmund devises a plan to make her his. He enrolls in the school, where no one other than Maybelle must give him expert lessons in carnal pleasure.

    What she needs is a husband, and she knows well enough that romance and matrimony aren't always compatible. While providing for her twins and the child she now carries is paramount, wedding a virtual stranger—even a wealthy one, like Gideon St. Goddard, Duke of Stanthorpe—is no light matter.Sabrina knows the friend who arranged the union would not promise her to a true scoundrel, but one look at her future husband convinces her that he is a shameless rogue. A shockingly handsome and desirable one, at that. Why has he agreed to marry her? When Gideon flashes that wicked, seductive smile, the reason hardly matters, but the chance that he'll steal her heart becomes all too real...

    With this, the first in a dazzling new quartet of novels, Balogh invites us into a special world—a select academy for young ladies—a world of innocence and temptation. Drawing us into the lives of four women, teachers at Miss Martin’s School for Girls, Balogh introduces this novel’s marvelous heroine: music teacher Frances Allard—and the man who seduces her with a passion no woman could possibly forget.…They meet in a ferocious snowstorm. She is a young teacher with a secret past. He is the cool, black-caped stranger who unexpectedly comes to her rescue. Between these two unlikely strangers, desire is instantaneous…and utterly impossible to resist. Stranded together in a rustic country inn, Lucius Marshall, who is the Viscount Sinclair, and Frances Allard share a night of glorious, unforgettable passion. But Frances knows her place—and it is far from the privileged world of the sensual aristocrat. Due to begin her teaching position at Miss Martin’s School in Bath, Frances must try to forget that one extraordinary night—and the man who touched her with such exquisite tenderness and abandon.But Frances cannot hide forever. And when fate once again throws them together, Lucius refuses to take no for an answer. If Frances will not be his wife, he will make her his mistress. So begins an odyssey fraught with intrigue, one that defies propriety and shocks the straitlaced ton. For Lucius’s passionate, single-minded pursuit is about to force Frances to give up all her secrets—except one—to win the heart of the man she already loves.Once again this incomparable storyteller captures a time and a place like no other. And in Lucius and Frances, Mary Balogh gives us her most unlikely lovers yet—a nobleman in search of the perfect wife and an unconventional woman willing to risk everything for an unforgettable love.

    Then the old duke wrests a final promise from his guilt-ridden son: that Royal will marry heiress Jocelyn Caulfield and restore the estate to its former glory. However, it is not his fiancée who quickens Royal's pulse, but rather her beautiful cousin Lily Moran.Penniless Lily knows that nothing can come of their undeniable attraction—but there is a way she can help Royal. Enlisting some questionable characters from her past, Lily concocts an elaborate ruse to recover some of the Bransford fortune from a notorious confidence artist. As the dangerous scheme unfolds, Lily and Royal are thrown together in pursuit of the very thing—money—that keeps them apart….

    . .and gentlemen would kill to remove it!Brilliant and ambitious dressmaker Marcelline Noirot is London's rising star. And who better to benefit from her talent than the worst-dressed lady in the ton, the Duke of Clevedon's intended bride? Winning the future duchess's patronage means prestige and fortune for Marcelline and her sisters. To get to the lady, though, Marcelline must win over Clevedon, whose standards are as high as his morals are . . . not.The prize seems well worth the risk—but this time Marcelline's met her match. Clevedon can design a seduction as irresistible as her dresses;and what begins as a flicker of desire between two of the most passionately stubborn charmers in London soon ignites into a delicious inferno . . . and a blazing scandal.And now both their futures hang by an exquisite thread of silk . . .

    . . .PRINCE OLAF OF NORWAY—Lord of the Wolves, the golden Viking warrior who came in his dragon ship to forge a great kingdom in the Emerald Isle.PRINCESS ERIN—Daughter of the Irish High King, the ebony-haired beauty who swore bitter vengeance on the legendary Norseman who had brought death and destruction to her beloved homeland.Yet, in the great Norse and Irish alliance against the invading Danes, it was her own father who gave her in marriage to her most hated enemy. Bewitched by Olaf's massive strength, seduced by his power, still Erin vowed that neither the wrath of his sword nor the fire of his kiss would sway the allegiance of her proud and passionate heart.

    . . Gwen Maudsley is pretty enough to be popular, and plenty wealthy, too. But what she’s best known and loved for is being so very, very nice. When a cad jilts her at the altar—again—the scandal has her outraged friends calling for blood. Only Gwen has a different plan. If nice no longer works for her, then it’s time to learn to be naughty. Happily, she knows the perfect tutor—Alexander Ramsey, her late brother’s best friend and a notorious rogue. So why won’t a confirmed scoundrel let her be as bad as she wants to be? Unbeknownst to Gwen, Alex’s aloof demeanor veils his deepest unspoken desire. He has no wish to see her change, nor to tempt himself with her presence when his own secrets make any future between them impossible. But on a wild romp from Paris to the Riviera, their friendship gives way to something hotter, darker, and altogether more dangerous. With Alex’s past and Gwen’s newly unleashed wildness on a collision course, Gwen must convince Alex that his wickedest intentions are exactly what she needs.

    By offering him a kiss in lieu of the jewels she had to leave behind, she commits the very type of act that caused her exile. When her dour guardians extend her punishment to performing charitable work at the local orphanage, she's further tempted by the home's owner, a provincial gentleman who stirs her passion in a most wicked way.HE WAS HER DOWNFALLDesperate to save his orphanage from financial catastrophe, Montgomery "Fox" Foxcroft leads a double life as a highwayman. The arrival of wealthy, well-connected Miranda, whose kiss he can't forget, presents a lawful opportunity to increase his coffers. His problems seem solved-until she rejects his suit. Out of options and falling for the heiress, Fox must risk what principles he has left and take advantage of her wicked ways-even if it ruins them both.

    The younger of identical twins, she narrowly escaped a death sentence at birth. To save her beloved sister from marriage to the savage Norman conqueror who has laid siege to their castle, Linnea will sacrifice her own happiness by engaging in a dangerous deception.Years of exile have driven Axton de la Manse to the brink of despair. Now he will have his vengeance by taking his enemy’s most prized possession, his eldest daughter. Once they wed and she is carrying the de la Manse heir, no one can dispute his claim to Maidenstone, the stronghold stolen from his family. That is, until the unthinkable happens: He loses his heart to his bride, whose own desires ignite a fierce longing deep within Axton. Is their growing love enough to overcome the lies and treachery that could drive them apart?

    How was the spoiled and pampered Catherine Augustine Ashbrooke to know the handsome stranger with the brooding, midnight eyes would see through her plot and make her the pawn in a dangerous game of his own?Alexander Cameron may have won the highborn English beauty in a duel, but not even the lure of long-forgotten desires could keep him from his meeting with destiny. He had no choice but to carry his reluctant bride off to the Highlands, to a world of ancient blood feuds and a brewing rebellion--a world where fiery passion and breathtaking courage would prove that even legendary warriors could lose their hearts.

    "An Arranged Marriage" is the first of Beverley's beloved tales that began her popular "Company of Rogues" series. Eleanor Chivenham didn't put much past her vile brother, but even she had not anticipated his greedy scheme to dupe a rich earl into mistaking her for a lightskirt! With her reputation in shreds and her future ruined, a defeated Eleanor was forced to agree to a hasty wedding. But marriage to the mysterious Nicholas Delaney was more than she'd bargained for. He doubtless thought the worst of her, but when society gossip soon told her all about his beautiful French mistress, Eleanor tried to act with the cool dignity required in a marriage of convenience. But how long could she hold out against his undeniable charm -- or the secret desires of her heart? For the sake of family honor, Nicolas Delaney agreed to wed a wronged lady. In truth, such chivalry ran counter to his carefully wrought image of a carousing, dissolute rogue -- the guise so vital to his secret political mission. He hoped to keep his new wife in the background until a spy was trapped, but Eleanor's beauty and fighting wit were impossible to ignore. In fact, she presented quite a challenge to his prowess with women -- and a test of his formidable will!

    But she roundly dismisses the suitors the matchmaking hostess has invited on her behalf. For it's the duchess' dashing son, Ned, Lord Edward, who long ago captured Ellie's heart—and roused her desire. All it takes is a pair of conveniently misplaced silky red bloomers to set the handsome widower's gaze on this unusual girl who is clearly more than meets the eye.After four years of mourning, Ned must find a wife. At first glance, the birthday ball his mother has thrown in his honor is decidedly lacking in suitable mistresses. But he senses something unexpectedly alluring beneath the veil of Ellie's plain exterior—and suddenly she's invading his dreams in a decidedly scandalous manner.