STILL PLAYING THE COUNTRY BUMPKIN TO MAKE ME APPEAR A FOP." So said Lord Monteith during the usual repartee to which he treated Samantha when he stopped with his mama in the country. For her part, Sam had lived for Monty's visits between Seasons as long as she could remember, knowing that she could expect little else from that jaded gentleman. But their innocent flirtation was about to be dashed from a quite unexpected quarter: Monty's middle-aged--and debauched--uncle Howard was returned from India, laden with riches and ready to spend them on a pretty young wife. And when Howard set his cap for Sam, Monty suddenly found that he must protest too much--that is, for just an old and trusted friend....

    And I'm more tired and hungry than I have ever been in my life. Please let me come home.Compromised and wedded on the same day, Lady Miranda was fast finding married life not to her taste. A decaying manor and a secretive husband were hardly the stuff of girlish dreams. Yet every time she looked at dark, brooding Marcus Radwell, Duke of Haughleigh, she felt inexplicably compelled—and determined—to make their marriage real!

    Lady Cordelia Branley, daughter of Baron Tillingford, in London for the first time, is captivated by Lord Edward Fitzhugh. But her chaperone, Miss Millpost, is not so convinced of the young Lord’s character. Philip Canterwood, Duke of Rotherhithe, is set in his ways as a widower – until the request of his dying friend, Baron Tillingford, to investigate the man that Lady Cordelia fancies herself in love with. Once he begins to look into it, everything changes… Is Lord Edward as charming and pleasant as he seems? Will Lady Cordelia find true love in the end? Or will she be blinded by charm with no substance? And will the Duke allow himself to love again? The Duke and the Lady’s Maid Eric Caxton, the Duke of Amesbury, suspected that Olivia was no ordinary lady's maid. She was too refined and a bit impertinent. All Olivia wanted was to free herself from the employ of her aunt and cousin who delighted in her discomfort. A summer trip to Bath would be just the ticket to find a respectable Lady in need of a maid, but Olivia found more than she bargained for when she caught the interest of the Duke. Hope for Charity Rumor has it that the Earl of Wentwell is a self-serving rogue who is desired by all the women of the Ton. Lady Charity Abernathy is the epitome of naiveté and believes everything she hears. Both are hoping for happiness. Both are longing for love. And things are not always what they seem. Summer with the Duke Abigail Jones is unhappy with life on her family’s farm and flees to Bath for the summer, to work in her aunt and uncle’s shop. Quite by accident, she meets the Duke of Hampston’s daughter, who takes an immediate liking to her, and invites her to her home for tea. Abigail, unaware that she will be visiting the home of a Duke, agrees. Jealousy ensues when the Duke’s almost fiancée sees how well both the daughter and the Duke hit it off with Abigail. Will the Duke stay the course and marry Lady Margaret? Or will he confess that he’s secretly falling for Abigail? The Duke’s First Love Rose expected a proposal from the dashing Duke of Highbury, but it did not come. When she finds out he is marrying another, she reluctantly goes with her family to Bath for the summer. Will the round of summer parties help wash her sour memories away? The Duke’s Scandalous Scholar Widower Evan Aldercliffe, Duke of Foxchester, joins his family in Bath, hoping to regain his footing and recover from grief. There he meets Bridget Stanhope, a free-spirited woman who thinks that all men are foolish. Sparks fly immediately, but the result is... magical. The Governess and the Scandalous Duke Miss Beatrice Lakeheart is left in the most unfortunate circumstances after the death of her mother and the remarriage of her Papa. When she is offered employment as a governess for the scandalous, world weary Duke of Carrington, little does she know that her very innocence will attract him to her like a moth to a flame. But between her jealous stepbrother and his jealous (and unpleasant) fiancée, can they still find their happily ever after? Amelia and the Earl Amelia Dane, plain, sensible, and poor, gave up her

    On just such a dark night, a mysterious voiceless girl arrives at the doorstep of the powerful Duke of Rutland, Neil Arnold. Thanks to her, his gloomy soul will see its first sunny days after a very long time. Her silence, though, hides secrets, and whatever evil force made her run for her life that dreadful stormy night is coming after her... The Duke, while still trying to find his way back to happiness, will have to find the strength to protect not only the mysterious stranger that stole his heart but also his innocent daughter. He can't afford to lose the ones he loves for the second time. But the danger is resting closer than he thinks as no one can be trusted.

    To Matilda, who considers herself the aging spinster daughter, marriage is laughable--love is a game for the young, after all. But her modest, quiet life of order unravels when a dashing gentleman from her past reappears, threatening to charm his way into her heart yet again.Charles Sawyer, Viscount Dirkson, does not expect to see Matilda Westcott thirty-six years after their failed romance. Moreover, he does not expect decades-old feelings to emerge at the very sight of her. When encountering Matilda at a dinner hosted by the Earl of Riverdale, he finds himself as fascinated by her as he was the first day they met, and wonders if, after all these years, they have a chance at happiness together. Charles is determined to crack the hard exterior Matilda has built for over three decades or risk losing her once again...

    So when the Earl of Langford makes her a proposal that will take her one step closer to finding her half sister, she can't refuse! Sebastian's dreams of romance died with his late wife's affair, so now he needs a convenient wife to act as governess for his silent daughter. Yet Sarah continues to surprise and challenge him, and soon Sebastian can't deny the joy his new bride could bring to his life—and into his bed!

    His brother’s murder has forced Steven into a new and completely unwanted role, and worse, he has no idea how to salvage his family’s depleted estate. A rumor that his brother had a son by a woman who may be a) the murderer, and b) his brother’s secret wife, sets Steven on a mission to find her, the boy, and—Steven ardently hopes—the proof of a marriage that will set him free. Confirmed spinster Annabelle Harris is a country heiress with a penchant for taking in orphans and helping the downtrodden. Her philanthropy hides her desperate search for her disgraced sister, the mistress to the Earl of Hackwell. When the Earl is murdered, her sister thrusts her child into Annabelle’s care and disappears. Now, with suspicion pointing at the sister, Annabelle has begun a new quest, to find the woman, and clear her name. When their paths converge, the reluctant Earl and the independent spinster find themselves rethinking their goals, and battling the real murderer together.

    Certainly she could never compete with the lovely Lucinda for the hand of the devastatingly handsome, dauntingly demanding Lord Jared Tremayne Duke of Montford, who was on the hunt for a wife, after a reign as London's leading libertine. No, the duke decidedly would never see Emily as a mate in marriage when Lucinda fit that role so well. But if the duke could not see Emily as a wife when she arrived with Lucinda on a matchmaking visit to the ducal estate, she caught his roving eye as a woman--which left Emily torn between her position as Lucinda's companion and confidante and the passion that the most irresistible rake in the realm knew so well how to stir and satisfy....

    There, she is free of society's expectations and her worries of the future. With the death of Lord Percival Barrington, the only grandfather figure she's ever known, Ivy is torn between the grief of losing him and her beloved summer home. Losing Bridgestone, even to one as worthy and handsome as Percival's great-nephew Henry, seems cruel and unfair. So when Ivy learns of a provision in the will, she is more than willing to go to great lengths to secure the inheritance for herself. The only catch? Ivy must marry a man that fits a list of requirements before the season ends. She quickly learns, however, that love has its own set of rules--rules that are not so easily defined nor understood. What if her opponent is actually the man she's been searching for? Can Ivy secure a match before her time runs out, or will surrendering her heart mean losing all that was intended for her?

    When Lord Richard Craven, heir to a dukedom, singles her out, she is flattered by the attention but harbours no false illusions about the outcome. Her neighbour, the formidable rakehell Harry Benson-Smythe, is not only suspicious of her high-born admirer but inexplicably jealous too. As Eloise and Harry work together to solve the mysterious abductions of local girls, the dark side of Richard’s character emerges and his true purpose becomes apparent. So too do Harry’s feelings for Eloise, which transcend the mere neighbourly. But Harry is engaged to another lady and, even if he were not, his father would never sanction a union with Eloise…

    But all her hard effort to improve herself comes to nothing when it looks as if Giles is about to propose--to someone else!Deciding that bad behaviour is infinitely more attractive than perfection, Joanna flees her shocked family. Giles is hot on her trail, determined to catch her and bring her safely home. But will he be as determined to make her his bride?

    Malcolm's List.Sophronia Lattimore had her romantic dreams destroyed years ago and is resigned to her role as chaperone for her cousin. Still, she cannot sit idly by when she becomes aware that a gentleman is about to propose to the wrong woman. She sends him an anonymous letter that is soon the talk of the town, particularly when her advice proves to be correct. Her identity is discovered and Sophie, formerly a wallflower, becomes sought after for her “expert” matchmaking skills. One person who seeks her out is the eligible and attractive Sir Edmund Winslow. As Sophie assists Sir Edmund in his pursuit of a wife, she wishes she could recommend herself as his bride. However, she vows to remain professional and uninvolved while aiding him in his search (especially since the gentleman surely does not return her affections).Three unexpected arrivals soon show up at Sophie's door—the man who once broke her heart, a newlywed who is dissatisfied with the match Sophie made for her, and the man madly in love with Sophie's cousin—all wanting her attention. But when her onetime beau and Sir Edmund both appear to be interested in her, Sophie can’t figure out if she’s headed for another broken heart­­ or for the altar. How can she be expected to help other people sort out their romantic lives when her own is such a disaster?

    Desperate to save her family from debtor's prison, Alicia vows to marry the first wealthy man to propose. She meets the dashing Lord Amesbury, and her heart whispers that this is the man she is destined to love, but his tainted past may forever stand in their way. Her choices in potential husbands narrow to either a scarred cripple with the heart of a poet, or a handsome rake with a deadly secret.Cole Amesbury is tormented by his own ghosts, and believes he is beyond redemption, yet he cannot deny his attraction for the girl whose genuine goodness touches the heart he'd thought long dead. He fears the scars in his soul cut so deeply that he may never be able to offer Alicia a love that is true.When yet another bizarre mishap threatens her life, Alicia suspects the seemingly unrelated accidents that have plagued her loved ones are actually a killer's attempt to exterminate every member of her family. Despite the threat looming over her, learning to love the stranger she married may pose the greatest danger to her heart.

     Maeve longs to find a place where she can belong, and forever hide herself. But she winds up making a deal with Lord Rothe--she'll look after his sixteen-year-old niece until she can find a new position. She's soon caught up in the lives of this troubled girl, and this troubled lord. How can she leave this family that needs her so much? How can she stay when she is falling in love with a man far above her lowly position? Lord seeking governess to tame his niece—and teach him how to love again. A younger son, he was meant for a military career and he's made himself into a hard army man. But now he is Lord Rothe, with a title he never wanted, relatives who resent him, and a desperate need for Maeve's help. But will he lose her due to her stubborn determination to make everyone follow orders...and to a heart which has forgotten how to love?

    He knows he must someday do right by the Somerset line, but he’s in no hurry to give up his carefree existence.Helena Banbury is a bookkeeper in a gentleman’s gambling club, adept at analyzing numbers and accounts but helpless for lack of influence. She’s never belonged among the nobility on the gaming hell floors, but neither does she feel completely herself among the men who run the Hell and Sin Club, despite the fact that they are family. The once-illiterate girl from the streets wants more than the gilded walls her protective cage can offer.When Robert mistakenly enters her chambers one night, Helena is forced out of her predictable life and thrust into the glittering world of Society. Will the charms of the marquess prove more perilous than any danger she ever knew on the streets?