Quite by happenstance, she's introduced to the Hawthorne family and their close family friend, Anthony, the reformed marquis of Raeburn. They welcome her into their world, but just as she's beginning to gain some confidence and even suspect she may have caught Anthony's eye, she's blindsided by an unexpected twist in her situation accompanied by nasty rumors. Will she lose her reputation when the world that has only just accepted her turns its back on her, or will she rest in the support of the friends who've become like family and the man who's shared his faith and captured her heart?A Lady of Esteem is an e-only novella that gives an exciting introduction to Kristi Ann Hunter's new Regency romance series about the aristocratic Hawthorne family! Includes an extended excerpt of Kristi's debut full-length novel, A Noble Masquerade.

    “You don’t want a fortune and you don’t want to be married, while I should enjoy both excessively. If Great Aunt Agatha had wished to promote the marriage of a great niece, why didn’t she leave her fortune to me?” At the age of 24, the bookish and beautiful Miss Elaine Howard of Lynnfield Manor has long accepted her status as a spinster. Her life is focused on taking care of her roguish invalid father and his dilapidated estate and on preparing her younger sister Anne for her first Season. An unexpected inheritance which promises her a large fortune if she marries before her 25th birthday soon sets off a train of dramatic and comic events, which include a spate of unwelcome fortune hunters, an exchange of identities, an abduction, and a mystery around a missing family heirloom. An Unmarried Lady is a regency romance written in the style of Georgette Heyer. Its lively characters become embroiled in a plot that makes use of the thick black fog that descended upon London and the surrounding countryside in December of 1813, and also touches on events in the lives of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard and Mary Wollstonecraft.

    She’s lost her grandfather and the bookshop they ran together. If not for the invitation from the Duke of Danby, she would have no place to go.No Christmas festivities for Baron Ellesworth this year. His newly inherited estate is in bad shape—and so is his bank account. He’ll spend the holiday traveling to do a bit of business with Lord Danby, in hopes of bringing Christmas to Elleshaven next year.Traveling during the holiday season doesn’t sound romantic, but a star in the East, an abandoned child and a quest for holiday cheer might just convince these two that love is the best gift of the Season.

    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?

    But to his dismay, the one lady who stirs his ardor and excites his mind is a penniless musician's daughter…With her dubious lineage and humble dowry, Allegra Antinori knows Society deems her no great prize. Still, she hopes marriage to an honorable gentleman will secure her future -- particularly if the groom is Rob Lynton, the family acquaintance she's always adored. So why does the entirely unsuitable Lord Tavener keep teasing her senses -- and bedeviling her heart?

    Now a governess to the delightful Heythrop family, she once again encounters her former fiancé, Lord Steyne, while in the midst of a summer-long family treasure hunt. Misunderstanding and sadness lay in the past; would the future hold more hurt—or happiness?

    Sparking arguments between herself and the mysterious Saybrook is delightful fun. But both are putting her heart in danger. Now she's caught between desire and her deception, for the most a titled lord can offer to a mere governess is ruin.

    It is Emma who is amazed. She has naturally concluded that the man reading in the conservatory must be the country cousin (who else in London would actually read?) and is quite vexed to discover that he is the Duke of Trent himself—imagine, stealing the duke’s prize Rhyncholaelia digbyana under his very nose! But her vexation doesn’t last long. For Emma is a practical young lady with a mission: to end her dear sister Lavinia’s engagement to the villainous (and dreadfully dull!) Sir Waldo Windbourne, and she thinks that the famous libertine is just the man for the job. If he would only seduce her sister away from Sir Waldo…. Well, not seduce exactly, but flirt mercilessly and engage her interest. Perhaps then Lavinia would jilt the baron. The Duke of Trent is resistant, of course. Despite his reputation, he does not toy with the affections of innocents. And besides, it’s not her sister he longs to seduce.

    When circumstances force her to travel to Town for the Season, Cassy infiltrates the hallowed portals of the Geological Society from which she has been banned. She is horrified when she comes face to face with her nemesis, the infuriating Earl of Rothbury.Lord Rothbury is a gentleman-geologist with a turbulent romantic past. After a youthful disappointment he vows never to fall in love again, and makes the decision, instead, to seek out a convenient wife when he returns to England from his geological travels abroad. Brought together by their close family ties, Cassy and Rothbury collaborate on a geological paper and discover a powerful attraction. Marriage, however, is the one subject they cannot agree upon. But when Cassy’s life is threatened, the two realise that love matters more than their objections.

    If mice in the walls and holes in the roof aren't bad enough, someone wants her to believe the place is haunted. But Portia doesn't scare that easily, even if catching sight of the brooding ghost leaves her strangely breathless. When he was accused of murdering his fiancée a decade ago, Giles Ashburne fled the country to his supposed death. Now he’s returned to the Hall to uncover the evidence that will exonerate him, only to find himself playing a ghost in his own home. Nothing he does drives Portia away, and worse, the stubborn chit is starting to grow on him. The more Portia learns about Giles Ashburne, the more certain she becomes that her ghost is not only innocent, but far from dead. When she sets out to prove it, she puts herself on a crash course with not only Giles, but the real killer. If Giles and Portia don't learn to stop striking sparks off each other and work together, there will soon be two ghosts at Ashburne Hall.

    Jacqueline “Jack” Walters loves archery and Greek military history. In her third season she has failed to inspire so much as one marriage proposal and is planning to settle into the quiet life of a spinster.Gideon Wolfe, Earl of Harrington, has been avoiding marriage but a case of mistaken identity in the library has left him saddled with an argumentative and unwilling fiancee.

    Wounded and battle weary, he decides that the right wife is all he needs. Selecting the most desirable lady in the ton, Henry turns to her best friend and companion to help him with his suit…Is a Terrible Mistake…Young and beautiful, war widow Frances Whittier is no stranger to social intrigue. She finds Henry Middlebrook courageous and manly, unlike the foppish aristocrats she is used to, and is inspired to exercise her considerable wit on his behalf. But she may be too clever for her own good, and Frances discovers that she has set in motion a complicated train of events that’s only going to break her own heart…

    Perspiration beaded on his forehead and traveled downward, streaking his temples. Chalyce knelt before him, looking up into the face contorted with anguish. “ Race?" she said again, louder this time. His shirt hung open and she could see that every muscle revealed there was tensed. His legs were tensed as well, pushing his body back fiercely against the chair. He was obviously enduring some very intense nightmare.“Race," she repeated, putting her hand gently on one of his legs.He gasped as his eyes burst open, releasing several tears that slowly traveled down his cheeks as he blinked to clear his vision "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice quaking with emotion. "You were dreaming." Chalyce watched in wonder as his hands, trembling violently, went to his face. He rubbed his face, wiping at the moisture caused from the perspiration as well as the tears. "Are you well?" she asked, truly concerned for his well-being. He looked at her and chuckled nervously for a moment, perplexing her. She wondered at the state of his sanity. "Am I fine?" he repeated. "No, Chalyce...I am diseased. Diseased of mind and that condition causes a pestilence of my very being!"

    Ensconced at his estate against her wishes, Mariah finds herself drawn to the handsome devil, but wonders if she can truly trust him with her heart.

    His mission: Rescue a spinster from certain scandal as the object of a tasteless wager. But much to Tristan's surprise, Calista Ashton is more sharp-tongued free spirited than a raw country girl --- and more attractive than he ever imagined. Twenty-four and determinedly unwed, she's nobody's fool, and perfectly capable of taking care of herself, thank you very much. It's soon abundantly clear to Tristan that although rescuing a damsel in distress might actually have been an easier plan to carry out, sharing kisses --- and more --- with a strong, sensual woman is far more satisfying. Now all he has to do is convince Calista that she's fallen as hard as he has ...