They do not know Lady Maria despises the hypocritical ways of Polite Society and is trying to sail away to America! Though the granddaughter of a duke, Lady Maria is a Child of Scandal because her mother was an American commoner. She blames the duke and the duchess for her parents’ death. Had they not disowned them, they would not have died of a virulent fever in America, leaving her an orphan at the age of five.She has not forgotten the coldness she had met with as a child, and how there were those who examined her features for tainted blood, and disparaged her mother to her face.She agrees to an arranged match to ward off her persistent suitors, treating the engagement as a sham one to be ended at her convenience. Then, most unexpectedly, she finds love with a commoner. Only he isn’t a commoner but the Earl of Daventon. Gareth, Earl of Daventon is no stranger to Scandal. Rumour has it that his father had banished his mother for adulterous behavior. He remembers his mother as a sweet, gentle woman and knows the late earl yearned until his last breath to have her back. Love is a quagmire and I shall not be caught in it, he decides. But love finds him. The object of his ardour is a mysterious young woman who dresses like a shop girl and behaves like a lady. Lord Daventon remedies the situation by accepting an arranged match, his betrothed being Lady Maria whom he hasn’t met. All of which leads to a delightful tangle of affairs.

    . .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?

    She may never know true love, but her people will finally know peace. However, when tragedy strikes more than once, and Elizabeth is pawned from laird to laird, unexpected desires for one man threaten to compromise her dutiful existence, forcing her to defy the rules. As the spare to the heir, Robert Irvine understands his obligation to the clan during these volatile times. But, marrying his brother’s beautiful widow is more than he bargained for, and nothing he is prepared for. When all he never wanted becomes all he ever needed, Robert suddenly stands to lose it all. When war is a constant threat, and a marriage to Elizabeth is the key to peace, Robert will do all he can to secure both, until he discovers she has done something that may destroy them both. Irvines of Drum Book 1 - For Love of a Laird Book 2 - Like a Laird to a Flame Book 3 - Maid for the Knight

    Author Anthea Lawson's novel PASSIONATE was nominated for a Golden Heart and a RITA award by the Romance Writers of America.

    Which is why Clyde Baxter, a West Point cadet on the verge of graduation, presents a problem. Their attraction is instantaneous, but it threatens Evelyn's lifelong dream of going to college. Clyde's brilliance in the new field of electrical power has him poised for a promising career in the Army's Corps of Engineers. The one thing he never anticipated was Evelyn White, a woman whose soaring ambition matches his own. As they fall in love over the course of one magical summer, they believe dreams are enough to weather any challenge. But when they are tested by forces neither saw coming, will the fragile bonds forged during those dream-filled summer days be strong enough to survive the storm?

    But when first her mother and then her father die, she finds herself alone, grief stricken and….. not of age. Her appointed guardian, an American uncle, has ordered her travel to his plantation where she must remain for at least two years when she will come of age. With the help of Lady Grace and Lady Sarah, Lady Amelia gets her uncle to agree to give her four weeks to settle her affairs and unbeknownst to him…find an English lord to marry so she can remain in her beloved England. Despite her mourning period she endeavors to trap one of London’s eligible bachelors in matrimony. Lord Goldstone, Lady Grace’s nephew is devilishly handsome, but a Scottish Duke and so entirely unacceptable as a possible husband. After all Scotland is not her beloved London and environs. He also has a nasty habit of showing up at all the wrong moments and thwarting her carefully laid plans to ensnare a suitable husband. Sparks fly as the pair find themselves at odds with each other and drawn to each other at the same time. Can they find a way to stop arguing long enough to explore their growing passion? Is it strong enough to make Lady Amelia give up her English home after all? Or will Lady Amelia find a suitable English lord and avoid social exile in America? Time is running out.

    She has been sold to the highest bidder so that she may produce an heir for the devilishly handsome and arrogant Earl and she is outraged. How can she have any respect or feelings for a man whose reputation is that of a complete wastrel and philanderer? She resolves to resist him at all costs yet Sophia is totally unprepared for the exquisite pleasure she experiences from her husband’s wicked hands as he introduces her to a world of sexual delight she had no idea existed. For Ralph, when his cousin had suggested he take a wife to heal the rift in his family, it had seemed the perfect solution to his problems. However, he hadn’t counted on choosing someone as spiritedly passionate as Sophia and something inside of him reacts to her in a way that disconcerts him. What started out as a necessary chore soon becomes an exciting challenge as he determines to do what he does best - seduce his young wife and put an end to the estrangement that exists between them. But why is Sophia’s good opinion becoming increasingly important to him? And why does he feel the compulsive need to convince her that he is not the unsavoury character she believes him to be?

    Stealing the delicate beauty on her wedding day, he vows to keep her safe—and untouched—for she is a hostage to be bartered for the freedom of his beloved Scotland. But soon he discovers that his lovely captive has unexpected strength, fire—and plans of her own. From a besieged French castle to the untamed Scottish Highlands, Darach and Laurien are swept up in wild adventure, dangerous secrets…and forbidden love that puts their honor and their lives at risk.An RWA Golden Heart Award Finalist: Best Historical Romance of the Year“A compelling, memorable romance. HIS STOLEN BRIDE joins the ranks of the finest medieval captive/captor stories along with those by Elizabeth Stuart and Johanna Lindsey. 4 1/2 stars (highest rating)." -RT Book ReviewsAn earlier edition of this novel was originally published by Avon Books under the title Falcon on the Wind. This extensively revised Author's Preferred Edition includes new scenes never before published.The Stolen Brides SeriesThese regal brides are about to discover that falling in love with a warrior is the most dangerous adventure of all. Each book is a stand-alone, steamy historical romance:Book 1: HIS STOLEN BRIDE (Darach and Laurien)Book 2: FOREVER HIS (Gaston and Celine)Book 3: HIS FORBIDDEN TOUCH (Royce and Princess Ciara)Book 4: HIS CAPTIVE BRIDE (Hauk and Avril)Book 5: HIS SCOTTISH BRIDE (Henri and Aileen)

    Instead, she’s caught up in a whirlwind of balls, marriage proposals, and ton intrigues. Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her sponsors’ maddening neighbor, Henry Ashton, the Marquess of Mandeville. The handsome, arrogant, sometimes infuriating Mandeville stokes a passionate fire within her that won’t be denied, no matter the consequence.Deep, emotional scars secretly plague Henry, Lord Mandeville. As a result, he’s avoided romantic entanglements at all costs. Only, now he needs a wife—someone from a wealthy, powerful family to further his political aspirations. Instead, he finds himself all but obsessed with the beautiful but unconventional Lucy Abbington—a woman whose passions and wit stir desires he’d rather ignore. And yet…she might just be the one woman who can heal his wounded heart.Lucy and Henry’s heads say no, but their hearts say yes. Will they find themselves undone by love?

     Now he’s back…and Eliza is nothing less than horrified. He is widowed, sorrowful and desperate to explain what happened all those years ago. Determined not to give in and holding tightly onto her pain, Eliza refuses to give him even a moment of her time and instead tries to develop an attachment with Lord Montrose. Lord Montrose is both suave and amiable, but Eliza is struggling to make herself feel as much for him as she does for Lord Avondale. Then, when Lord Avondale discovers a terrible truth, Eliza is forced to look deep into her heart, questioning everything she thinks she knows about both gentlemen. Is Lord Montrose truly the man he seems? Or will her engagement to him all come crashing down once the truth is revealed… Author’s Note London Season Matchmaker is a five-book series about four sisters and their cousin all being reluctant when it comes to love. But of course, in the end, they all do fall madly in love.

    Spend the night with him! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lady Kitty Varney runs a discreet business to support herself and pay off her late husband's gambling debts. When Viscount Justin Belmont appears in her parlor, Kitty's latest client is the very man she was forbidden to marry years ago. Kitty questions if she can find Justin a woman worthy of him…and if she can bear to help him wed any other woman. Then Justin lists his criteria for a wife and Kitty is shocked to learn she is among the few candidates suitable. He demands each candidate spend one night with him. Can Kitty deny herself the chance to enjoy the charms of the man she's never forgotten? Lady Varney's risqué business might be her saving grace—but it may well become her undoing.

    She’s ramshackle, always says what she thinks and prefers riding and fishing over sewing and social graces. Grayson Lyall, Marquis of Carraway, is Society’s ideal of a perfect gentleman. He’s handsome, wealthy and considered a war hero by everyone but himself. A gentleman, that is, until he sets eyes on the intriguingly different Lady Juliana, emotionally jilted and humiliated and under pressure to change everything about herself. For her, he is quite willing to play the hero to a reluctant damsel in distress. But nothing is ever easy with Lady Juliana. It will take persistence.

    Cultured. Perfect. It was a lesson that proper Evelyn Ashley-Cooper had learned flawlessly over six oppressive years of marriage. Even when widowhood freed her from the prison her life had become, Eve still floundered under the veneer of perfection that her domineering husband demanded, unable to unleash the lively girl she once was from the confines of her prim exterior. But when her long-lost first love Francis MacKintosh, earl Glenrothes reappears in her life, Eve is tempted by the desire to escape her proper façade and the longing to truly live once again. Discovering that enticement alone cannot overrule years of tyranny, Eve struggles between her old self and the new, between yearning to be with him and a determination never to put herself under the thumb of another man - even one she discovers she still loves as much as her Glenrothes. Since meeting a vivacious, young Eve many years before, Francis MacKintosh has become a man embittered by life, by a wife who has made him a cuckold to the whole of Scotland and by a humiliating divorce that has rained scandal down upon the heads of himself and his family for years. Never had he thought that he would find Eve, his Eden, once again or that he would dare push aside his disdain of the fairer sex, to trust and love once more. But for Eve, for the love and happiness he is suddenly certain they can find only in each other, he finds himself willing to take a chance. If only he might convince his true love to do the same! Francis' seduction and ability to blend her proper side with the spirited Eve of years past lure the countess back to him but just when happiness seems but a step away, their mutual pasts will come crashing down around them attempting to tear them apart and Eve and Francis will have to risk their lives for a future together. The question remains, will their rediscovered love be enough to conquer all?

    He just hopes she can hear what’s in his heart.Lord Tremayne has a problem. He stammers like a fool—at least that’s what he learned from his father’s constant criticism and punishing hand. Daniel now hides his troubles, limiting his speech and getting by with a few close friends. His well-fought privacy is all for naught when he goes looking for a new mistress and finds a delightful young woman who makes him, of all people, want to spout poetry. He thought he had a problem before? Avoiding meaningless dinner prattle is nothing compared to the challenge of winning the heart of his new lady lust.Recently widowed and increasingly poor, Thea’s been reduced to sharing her rented room with rodents and arguing over every morsel (the mice usually win). When a friend suggests an alliance of the most intimate sort, Thea’s reluctantly intrigued. But given her lackluster marriage, she doubts her ability to entice an experienced man. The considerate, if quiet, Lord Tremayne attracts her mightily, so she sets aside her misgivings. That is, until Thea realizes she’s about to break the cardinal rule of mistressing—that of falling for her new protector.A fun, emotionally satisfying, steamy tale told in three parts: Seductive Silence, Lusty Letters, and Daring Declarations.

    The one thing he swears never to do is claim possession over another human being. But when he journeys across the North Sea to raid the holy houses of Northumbria, he encounters a dark-haired beauty, Laurel, who stirs him like no other. When his cruel cousin tries to take Laurel for himself, Eirik breaks his oath in an attempt to protect her. He claims her as his thrall. But can he claim her heart, or will Laurel fall prey to the devious schemes of his enemies? She has the heart of a warrior… Life as an orphan at Whitby Abbey hasn’t been easy, but Laurel refuses to be bested by the backbreaking work and lecherous advances she must endure. When Viking raiders storm the abbey and take her captive, her strength may finally fail her—especially when she must face her fear of water at every turn. But under Eirik’s gentle protection, she discovers a deeper bravery within herself—and a yearning for her golden-haired captor that she shouldn’t harbor. Torn between securing her freedom or giving herself to her Viking master, will fate decide for her—and rip them apart forever?