Bøger af Mary Lancaster

A defaced portrait and the death of an artist - but is anything quite what it seems? To the furious disapproval of his assistant, April, Lord Petteril insists on calling in on Lady Haggard's country house party - only to discover his hostess and her guests in uproar over a portrait of the late Sir Weston Haggard which has been deliberately damaged. While Petteril tries to trace the vandal among the well-born suspects - who include members of his own family, old friends and enemies, and even amorous widows - April encounters fresh problems and makes new friends. But when real violence erupts, their hunt for the truth turns suddenly much more urgent...

A damaged hero battles love at first sight...Even experienced soldiers have their limits of endurance. For Major Roderick Vale it was Waterloo. Sent on enforced leave of absence after attacking his fellow officers, he returns with his siblings to the family home near Blackhaven in search of peace and healing and a little passionate distraction.The last thing he needs is to fall seriously in love with Lady Helen Conway, a heady mixture of youthful fun, beauty, and astounding artistic talent. She is also the youngest sister of the Earl of Braithwaite and Roderick could not be more unsuitable company for her.Helen disagrees. He fascinates and excites her. Neither his erratic temper nor his past mistresses - nor even his waking nightmares - appal her. She is brave enough to follow her heart and fight off all who would hurt him, even while trying to achieve her own dreams to become an artist of renown.The odds are stacked against them. But when Roderick finally fights for Helen, is it from honour or love? And can she settle for one without the other?One Night in BlackhavenThe Captain's Old LoveThe Earl's Promised BrideThe Soldier's Impossible LoveThe Gambler's Last ChanceThe Poet's Stern CriticThe Rake's MistakeThe Spinster's Last Dance

Is the ghost of a Jacobite bride the clue to murder? Duke's daughter Lady Grizelda and her gorgeous revolutionary husband Dragan are not in perfect charity with each other when he goes haring off from a family reunion to help a friend. But when he calls, Griz still rushes off to join him, taking their baby son with her. At Cathlinn House and its old castle ruin, she finds jealousy, mystery, murder and a tragic ghost that no one else can see. Despite the hostility of the uncooperative family, Griz and Dragan set out to discover how a young woman died. And on All Hallows' Eve, in the haunted castle ruins, they face dangers from the living and the dead... Crime & PassionMysterious LoverLetters to a LoverDangerous LoverLost Lover (Note: This story was first published as part of the Dragonblade Publishing Anthology, A Midnight Requiem, October 2022)

False engagement - or true love?Book 12 in the Blackhaven Brides series is now available! Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited.From the age of thirteen, Jess has been brought up by her irascible and reclusive guardian, Lord Viscral. Sheltered but spirited, Jess finally rebels when his lordship decides out of the blue that she should marry his estranged son and heir, Jonathan, whom she has never even met. Jess immediately makes plans to run away with the assistance of her childhood sweetheart, and make her living running a hat shop.But this is Blackhaven, where things rarely work out as planned. Lord Viscral has come to take the waters and to entice his black sheep of a son back into the fold, with Jess as bait. The black sheep, however, has no intention of being caught by either of them. Captain of a famous merchant ship, he only wishes to see that his father is well. However, when he encounters Jess out of her depth in a gaming hell, he is intrigued. And sees the possibility of an alliance to punish his tyrannical parent.Of course, it isn't that simple. Jess's sweetheart turns out to have feet of clay and brings more problems than he solves. Someone is stealing Jon's cargo. Someone else is trying to kill Jess and Jon. Cousin Hector alternately scolds and proposes. In the middle of it all, Bonaparte escapes from Elba, Jon begins to suspect blood is thicker than water, and worst of all, learns it's far too easy to fall in love with Jess...Blackhaven Brides SeriesBook 1 - The Wicked BaronBook 2 - The Wicked LadyBook 3 - The Wicked RebelBook 4 - The Wicked HusbandBook 5 - The Wicked MarquisBook 6 - The Wicked GovernessBook 7 - The Wicked SpyBook 8 - The Wicked GypsyBook 9 - The Wicked WifeBook 10 - Wicked Christmas (Holiday Novella)Book 11 - The Wicked WaifBook 12 - The Wicked HeirBook 13 - The Wicked CaptainBook 14 - The Wicked Sister

The real treasure of Ardbeag is not Jacobite gold...Two years after her husband's death, Lady Derwent is finally enjoying a life of freedom, fun and delicious intrigue. She travels to the Scottish Highlands only to sell the estate of Ardbeag, but when Stirling James suggests Rob Ogilvy of Lochgarron as a possible buyer, her plans begin to unravel.Rob believes the scandalous English widow has set her wicked sights on his nephew. But after only one masked encounter with her, he determines to make her his own. Unfortunately, the widow is equally determined never to be caught again in the marriage trap, even by the devastating, untamed Mr. Ogilvy, who is unlike anyone she has ever met.Then thieves strike, threatening everyone and everything in their ruthless search for Bonnie Prince Charlie's legendary treasure.Other books in The Marriage Maker and the Widows collectionRake RuinerMarrying the Belle of EdinburghSeduction of a Widow

Welcome to the new series Season of Scandal by USA Today Bestselling Author Mary Lancaster!Four innocent young ladies-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales spend the night sheltering from a wild party in her residence - only to discover in the morning that Her Highness was never there. And the news is already out.The ladies flee the scene to fight as best they can for their lost reputations. And to confront the man who tricked them. Pursued by the Rake (Book 1)If her reputation is false, is his?Hazel is ruined. With no money, no near family, and the stagecoach to her old governess's home vanishing into the distance, she is forced to accept the help of the one man she never wished to set eyes on again.To Hazel, the handsome and respected diplomat Sir Joseph Sayle is an infamous rake who took advantage of the princess she served. She hates his arrogance as much as his inexplicable effect on her senses. Under normal circumstances she would never have dreamed of setting foot in his curricle, least of all when he was, by his own admission, "not entirely sober" after a night's carousing.However, the journey in his relaxed company is unexpectedly fun, and when they reach their destination and are threatened by a parcel of eccentric children with a pistol, he enters the adventure with enthusiasm.It seems Sir Joe is much more than the man Hazel thought him. Amusing, kind, and passionate, he and his elegant pursuit provide exciting distractions to her woes. But flirting with him is a dangerous game, and by the time they face the trickster responsible for her ruin, her heart is already lost.Read for Free in Kindle Unlimited!Season of ScandalBook 1 - Pursued by the RakeBook 2 - Abandoned to the ProdigalBook 3 - Married to the RogueBook 4 - Unmasked by her Lover

A chance-meeting of soulmates? Or is everything a lie?Betrothed since birth to some stuffy earl she has never met, Lucy is torn between family duty and a longing for love and fun. Naturally, she determines to enjoy her last days of freedom - and her first Blackhaven ball - to the full. Especially when she encounters the unusual Tyler who makes her laugh and takes her on apparently pointless adventures in search of stray puppies, suspicious strangers, and an escaping highwayman.In fact, Tyler also plays a risky game to change the world and find his own personal justice. Already in love, Lucy is happy to help.And then the truth spoils everything.Or does it?One Night in BlackhavenThe Captain's Old LoveThe Earl's Promised BrideThe Soldier's Impossible LoveThe Gambler's Last ChanceThe Poet's Stern CriticThe Rake's MistakeThe Spinster's Last Dance

His dashing days are behind him - until an old flame dances back into his life.A hero of Trafalgar and many battle since, Captain Julius Vale, has retired from the Royal Navy and moved himself and all his siblings back to the family home near Blackhaven. Here, wounded and disillusioned, he seeks peace for himself, and happiness for his troubled brothers and sisters. He does not expect to encounter the woman who broke his heart ten years ago, and he certainly does not mean to make the mistake of falling for her again.Antonia, now an impoverished widow and mother, is the paid companion of eccentric spinster, Miss Talbot, who is taking a course of the Blackhaven waters. Meeting Julius again is a shock. So is the fact that he clearly blames her for their parting when it was he who sailed away without a word of goodbye. And yet after only one dance, she begins to feel alive...Amidst the tangle of anger, hurt and reigniting passion, they gradually realize the truth. But it seems that the same forces that parted them ten years ago are determined to do so again.Unless they are strong enough this time to trust in each other.One Night in BlackhavenThe Captain's Old LoveThe Earl's Promised BrideThe Soldier's Impossible LoveThe Gambler's Last ChanceThe Poet's Stern CriticThe Rake's MistakeThe Spinster's Last Dance

A missing family heirloom - and one of the family stole it. In the spring of 1812, Piers Withan is dragged from his beloved Oxford to be the new Viscount Petteril. Burdened by responsibilities he doesn't want and the remnants of a family who don't want him, he is saved from an irredeemable mistake by Ape, the small thief burgling his house. When the family heirloom known as the Petteril Necklace is found to be missing, Piers seeks out his burglar to get it back. However, their search leads them to Piers's own family - entitled, resentful and largely indebted. Only, which one of them is the thief? As he uncovers the truth, Piers begins to find his feet and his old joy in life, not least in his burgeoning friendship with Ape, whose past is a mystery of its own.

From suspects to lovers...In the midst of a thick London fog, underworld chief, Joshua Jarman is found murdered in the bedroom of a poor seamstress.Lord James Andover, icily vengeful after three years in Newgate Prison, should be the prime suspect, but amateur sleuths Lady Grizelda and Dragan Tizsa, don't believe he did it. Neither does Elizabeth, the reclusive seamstress, who has her own dreadful past with the dead man.Uniting to discover the truth, the four search for stolen diamonds, face dangerous criminals, and investigate the likeliest suspects from the east end docks to the mansions of Mayfair. Until they begin to close in on both the murderer and the conspiracy that led to James's wrongful conviction.In the process, Elizabeth and Lord James fight a powerful attraction that neither want but find they cannot live without.But even with the whole truth revealed, in the real world, can a marquis's rehabilitated son find happiness with a banker's ruined daughter?Crime & PassionMysterious LoverLetters to a LoverDangerous LoverLost Lover

Get Book Five in the exciting and sensual BLACKHAVEN BRIDES series! Or read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited! The lady meets her match - and he's hopelessly ineligible. Poverty stricken marquis, Lord Tamar, is regarded in Blackhaven as an amiable eccentric and a gifted painter, rather than as a wicked man. But Tamar has secrets that he dare not reveal to anyone, let alone to the delightful Lady Serena, the Earl of Braithwaite's sister, who suddenly lights up his world. To Serena, fed up with London etiquette and sent home to her family castle in disgrace after her engagement is broken, the fascinating Tamar is a breath of fresh air. Accepting his help with the mystery of the strange barrels in the castle cellar, she is soon in the midst of danger involving smugglers and spies and a friend's broken heart. But it is her own heart which is in most danger, as she falls swiftly and desperately in love. And neither her family nor Tamar himself would ever countenance a marriage between them. Moreover, the marquis turns out to have committed a far more shocking crime than mere poverty.

Vienna, 1814: Europe makes a historic peace...and dances. Colonel Francis Wolfe, military hero and the new Earl of Warenton, is prepared to do his duty and marry well. He has almost decided upon the well bred and beautiful Miss Sylvia Renleigh, without ever noticing the quiet young woman who is her aunt's over-worked companion. Until Elise practically walks under the hooves of his stallion. It never enters his head that she was daydreaming of him. Impoverished emigrée, Elise de Sancerre, knows that the earl would never normally look at her. Yet when they meet again at a masked ball, where the world expects him to propose to Sylvia, everything changes. Throw a managing sister and a missing tiara into the equation and all bets are suddenly off. Enjoy this delightful Regency tale!

Cursed or damaged?As soon as Madeleine encounters Roderick Usher and his isolated Scottish castle, she is mesmerized. A soldier wounded in mind and body, he has the soul of an artist and the hands of a musician. She falls in love and marries in haste...but will she live to repent? For the castle seems to have a personality of its own and Roderick, haunted by his past, lives on the edge of insanity.Inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, Madeleine is a gothic tale of mystery, danger, passion, and love overcoming all.Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited!(Note: This story was first published as part of the USA Today Bestselling Boxed set The Midnight Hour: All Hallows' Brides, October 2019)

Read Book Six in the bestselling Blackhaven Brides series... a lonely governess, a mute pupil, and secrets abound in this captivating tale. Purchase the novel or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited! Can the governess teach a damaged hero? Caroline Grey is devastated when she is dismissed from her post as governess to the Earl of Braithwaite's sisters. Finding temporary sanctuary at the eerie and neglected Haven Hall, she does not expect to enjoy the challenges presented by the house's dark and forbidding tenant, Javan Benedict, or by her mute and needy pupil. However, she is quickly intrigued by the oddly charming family and drawn into the several mysteries surrounding them and the hall. What tragedy lurks in Benedict's past, and why does his daughter choose not to speak? Who is trying to frighten them from the house? And most of all, what is the irresistible fascination of Caroline's troubled employer, and how does she help him without losing her heart and her reputation?

The Wicked Baron is the first in the Blackhaven Brides series, set in a newly fashionable spa town on the beautiful Cumbrian coast, where the great and the bad of visiting Regency society turn local life upside down. Orphan Gillie Muir makes ends meet by holding genteel card parties for friends and visitors to the newly fashionable spa town of Blackhaven. But when Lord Wickenden, known as the Wicked Baron, makes her a shocking proposal, her world is turned upside down. Jaded and bored, Lord Wickenden has his own reasons for joining the house party at Braithwaite Castle. One of them is to oblige an ex-mistress by detaching her son from the local gaming den hussy who has ensnared him. But, confronted by Gillie's unexpected charm and innocence, Wickenden abandons his original plan of simply taking her for himself. Instead, he becomes embroiled in her bizarre problems, which include saving her reputation and her life, keeping the Watch away from her card parties, and hiding an injured smuggler who was once kind to her. The infuriating and devastating Wickenden soon has Gillie's heart in a spin. But when she discovers he means to fight a duel over her - and everyone knows the wicked baron never misses - she'll go to any length to save his life and his soul. Even elope with another man.

Welcome to Book 4 in the bestselling BLACKHAVEN BRIDES series! Notorious young rakehell, Lord Daxton, wakes up in Blackhaven with a monumental hangover - and a wife. Willa Blake, his old childhood friend and poor relation of his sworn enemy, has her own reasons for eloping with him to Gretna Green - not least the fact that she's been in love with him since she was fourteen years old. Now they both have to face the consequences of their hasty marriage, which include not only scandal but attempted murder, accusations of theft and several duels, not to mention the fury of Daxton's mistress and the determination of his mother to have the marriage annulled. Yet among all the chaos and unexpected fun of life with Daxton, Willa's childish crush deepens into adult love. But will Dax, a man of impulse and passion, ever face up to his responsibilities, let alone return her love?

Can her enemy melt her cold heart? Lady Anna Gaunt comes to Blackhaven on a government commission - to free a French prisoner of war, thought to be Napoleon's spymaster, Colonel Delon, and learn his secrets. But Anna has to find him first, for the enterprising prisoner has freed himself and clearly has an agenda of his own to be played out in Blackhaven. Louis, betrayed, vengeful, and yet stubbornly loyal, is an enigma. He seems more interested in Anna's personal secrets than those of his own country, and their war of words and information quickly becomes one of seduction. But with the stakes so high, neither can afford to lose. Distractions such as highway robbery, elopement, and mysterious secret meetings can only unite them for a short time. For love is surely their common enemy, and any lasting relationship impossible....

Scotland, 1156. Malcolm MacHeth, one time Earl of Ross, languishes a prisoner in Roxburgh Castle while his sons raise rebellion in his name. Optimistically, the King of Scots promises the earldom to landless Norman, Sir William de Lanson, if he can somehow defeat the infamous MacHeths. It wasn't quite how William's disgraced wife Christian dreamed of coming home. Capture by the strange and ferocious Adam MacHeth was hardly part of her plan either, although she and William quickly become pawns in his. Adam, warrior and seer, fights for his father's freedom and for his family's right to claim the kingdom of the Scots. Plagued by waking dreams which threaten his sanity and his life, he use those prophecies to further his family's goals. But when he abducts his enemy's lady, his dreams and his desires are suddenly more personal... Praise for Mary Lancaster: "An absorbing historical love story... exquisite characterization and storytelling skills... a rich, vibrant historical novel." TBR Mountain Range "brilliant, beautiful, mesmerizing!" - Deborah MacGillivray "Different yet memorable... a unique perspective." Flashlight Commentary "absolutely stunning." Love Romances and More

A dreadful poem inspires a treasure hunt and wicked temptation...Book 13 is now available in the best-selling series Blackhaven Brides Read for FREE with Kindle unlimited!When a lame young officer presents widow Eve Cramond with an atrocious love poem penned by her late husband, she knows John is trying to tell her something from beyond the grave - namely, the location of valuable jewels stolen from his mother. With the help of Captain Lawrence, she tries to decipher his meaning and discover the treasure that could save her children from penury and release her from the unwelcome duty of begging financial help from her husband's cousin, the Earl of Braithwaite.But, of course, life isn't so simple. Lawrence proves to be a dangerous distraction in his own right, and for the first time ever, Eve contemplates taking a lover...Still recovering from a serious war injury, the easy going and reckless Lawrence is in Blackhaven for a reunion with his old friends. He anticipates a great deal of long-missed carousing, though he does not expect to play the highwayman or to fall in love with his late colonel's lady. Worse, Bonaparte is back in Paris and the allies are massing to defeat him once and for all. Lawrence refuses to let his injury stand in the way of fighting in this last battle, but there are other obstacles, including prison - and Eve whom he can't bear to leave.Blackhaven Brides SeriesBook 1 - The Wicked BaronBook 2 - The Wicked LadyBook 3 - The Wicked RebelBook 4 - The Wicked HusbandBook 5 - The Wicked MarquisBook 6 - The Wicked GovernessBook 7 - The Wicked SpyBook 8 - The Wicked GypsyBook 9 - The Wicked WifeBook 10 - Wicked Christmas (Holiday Novella)Book 11 - The Wicked WaifBook 12 - The Wicked HeirBook 13 - The Wicked CaptainBook 14 - The Wicked Sister (Coming Soon)

The scandalous widow...and the curate? Newly widowed, wicked Kate Crowmore is in trouble. Scandal has broken over her head and someone is trying to kill her. When she seeks refuge in Blackhaven, she doesn't expect a clergyman to be the solution to both these problems! Tristram Grant is not just any clergyman. The cast-off, illegitimate son of an earl, and a one-time army officer of great promise, the charismatic new curate is making his mark in Blackhaven. As soon as he sees the beautiful, defiant Kate, he sets his heart on her. And he is used to achieving his goals. But Kate, finally free of a disastrous marriage that almost broke her, has no intention of marrying anyone ever again - supposing she survives the attempts on her life. Grant's courtship, like his pursuit of her enemies, is unorthodox, fun and curiously seductive. However, he has secrets of his own and when he deliberately frees a French prisoner of war, Kate realizes he could be more dangerous than she imagined. Then, as if life isn't complicated enough, her old scandal catches us with her again, in the shape of Lord Vernon, whom the world imagines is her lover - and he wants to marry her too....

BOOK THREE IN THE BESTSELLING BLACKHAVEN BRIDES SERIES - ALSO IN KINDLE UNLIMITED! ***** At eight-and-twenty, Lady Arabella Niven is gentle, sickly, and firmly on the shelf. Having disobliged her father by refusing her last chance of marriage, she has been sent in disgrace to Blackhaven with two domineering aunts. Her one wish is to be left alone in a quiet cottage to write books on history. However, everything changes when she tries to rescue a naked man apparently drowning at sea. Thus begins an odd, fun friendship that quickly becomes passionate. For Captain Alban, the hero with a shady past, is rebellious and unconventional by nature. Marriage between such a man and a duke's daughter is inconceivable, and yet Alban's feelings for her drive him to face his past in order to create a new future that would be unendurable without her. Oppressive family, neglected children, fortune hunters, past loves, and old crimes all contrive to keep the pair apart. But when danger threatens Alban, it is the duke's gentle daughter who rides to his rescue.

A determined earl, a penniless lady, and far too many ghosts... Justina is a debutante's poor relation, forbidden to disgrace the family by any insane talk of ghosts. When they are invited to Hillfoot Tower in Scotland, it seems her cousin Anne is destined to become a countess. However, it is not Anne but Justina who has captured the Earl of Ochil's interest. For he has a unique problem with the many ghosts who haunt his ancient castle. He needs Justina's gifts - and, it seems, her heart. (Note: This story was first published as part of the USA Today Bestselling Boxed set Upon a Midnight Dreary, October 2021)

Pride versus passionBook 5 in the Unmarriagable Series is now available! Read for FREE with Kindle unlimited!Sir Marcus Dain lives for adventure. Most other things, including his large estates and his inevitable marriage, he considers wearily to be matters of duty rather than pleasure. Until he encounters fearless, intriguing governess, Miss Helen Milsom, at the Hart Inn.Sparks fly in terms of both temper and desire, but something in this quite unsuitable woman touches his cynical heart. Then old promises and devious, matchmaking mamas get in the way.Helen, having lost her chance of marriage ten years ago, is resigned to spinsterhood. Holding onto pride, which has seen her through many difficulties, she fights her inappropriate attraction, even when she is falsely accused and loses her position, and Sir Marcus offers her only safety. Misunderstandings and the villainous behaviour of Helen's one-time betrothed, combine to part them, but Marcus will not give up and sets out to remove all the obstacles to their happy-ever-after.The Unmarriageable SeriesThe Deserted HeartThe Sinister HeartThe Vulgar HeartThe Broken HeartThe Weary HeartThe Secret Heart

No room at the Hart Inn...After her first ever serious quarrel with her husband, Charlotte, the young Duchess of Alvan, flees to her parents' home for Christmas, taking her baby son and her dog. However, when the road is blocked by snow, she has to seek refuge at the Hart - and all the rooms are full. In the end, she has to share an old stable with a highly suspicious neighbor, a thief and a depressed rake. But there are plenty of unexpected gifts that night and love is the greatest of them all.Read free in Kindle Unlimited!The Unmarriageable SeriesThe Deserted HeartThe Sinister HeartThe Vulgar HeartThe Christmas Heart - NovellaThe Broken HeartThe Weary HeartThe Secret Heart(Note: This story was first published as part of the Bestselling Boxed set Stars are Brightly Shining, November 2019)

Danger, loyalty and loving the enemy...Book 4 in The Unmarriageable Series is now available! Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited!Shunned by society and even by her own family after the treachery of her late husband, Isabelle de Renarde has long given up any thought of love or remarriage. But desperate loneliness drives her to make an assignation at the Hart Inn - which is where, inevitably, everything changes.For the Hart is in turmoil once more, captured by a small group of French raiders led by the wildly reckless Captain Armand le Noir - who always succeeds in the end. Dazzled by Isabelle's beauty, Armand regards her at first much like the task in hand - a distraction from his own pain. But the Hart seems to work its magic and inconvenient attraction gets in the way of both unwise assignation and the search for lost prisoners of war. With the raiders only partially foiled, the adventure sweeps from the inn to a neighborhood ball and then to France itself. Amidst the constant danger and the intensity of their growing love, Isabelle and Armand live on the edge of betraying each other or their own loyalties. But someone is manipulating them, the true enemy is unclear, and in the end they must both risk everything to be together.The Unmarriageable SeriesThe Deserted HeartThe Sinister HeartThe Vulgar HeartThe Broken HeartThe Weary HeartThe Secret Heart

Betrayal, temptation and an impossible love.The final book in the Unmarriageable series...Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited!Some suspect that Lily Villin is the true heart of the Hart Inn, a lucky house where love always seems to blossom, whatever the obstacles. But Lily has another secret. She is in love with an enigmatic nobleman, and no luck in the world can make such a marriage possible.Randolph, Lord Torbridge, is a man of many secrets, in pursuit of a well-born traitor. But his visits to the Hart have increasingly less to do with his vital work than with the innkeeper's beautiful daughter - until he discovers her gift for mimicry and enrolls her in a dangerous masquerade to unmask the enemy.Being with her brings temptations he struggles to resist, for he will not ruin her and he cannot marry so far beneath his rank.For once, it is not Lily's talents but his own which are needed for this love to blossom - along with a little luck and ingenuity.The Unmarriageable SeriesThe Deserted HeartThe Sinister HeartThe Vulgar HeartThe Broken HeartThe Weary HeartThe Secret Heart

Abandoned by all, save a cold-hearted rake...Sophia, once betrothed to Major Giles Butler, who shot the Duke of Cuttyngham in a duel, has become the companion of the widowed duchess. In theory, at least. But when the duchess also abandons Sophia at Cuttyngs, her past catches up with her in the shape of her bullying cousins. Sophia finds herself indebted to the late duke's second, the haughty Earl of Frostbrook, whom she remembers only too well from a previous shocking, and secretly pleasurable, encounter.Frostbrook, pursued by every matchmaking mama and hounded by his own mother to accept a bride of her choosing, decides to play a trick on them all by producing his own pretend engagement to the beautiful but prickly Sophia. Their charade at his mother's country house party sets off a string of unforeseen events such as falling in love, and a dangerous abduction.Frostbrook pursues Sophia across the sea and as far as Brussels, where Wellington's troops are amassing to face Bonaparte's army.Here, among the scandal-loving British visitors, he and Sophia must unite to overcome their pasts and find a chance of happiness.The DuelEntangledCapturedDesertedBeloved

Awakening life and love...On the sudden death of her oppressive father in a duel, the cool and distant Lady Hera Severne finds herself floundering in her new freedom, and instantly attracted to sardonic doctor, Justin Rivers. Determined to change her life, she travels incognito to Lincolnshire, to take up a post as companion to Lady Astley and learn about life.But nothing is as she imagined it. Her cover is useless against Dr Rivers, whose family lives in the nearby village. Lady Astley appears to have little need of a companion. Rather she wants a carer for her husband's strange but amiable adult ward. Noises in the night, mystery, suspicion, and locked doors eventually force her to flee with Justin's help - and her charge.Inevitable scandal follows them to Brussels, where Justin's duty lies. But Justin, tortured by past failures and growing passion for the unworldly Hera, knows he cannot offer marriage to one so immeasurably above him in rank and fortune.But can he resist Hera, who has other ideas and the courage to follow them through?The DuelEntangledCapturedDesertedBeloved

A deadly quarrel, an impossible loveOn his way to rejoin Wellington's gathering army near Brussels, Major Giles Butler fights a duel with the opinionated Duke of Cuttyngham. It was never meant to be a killing affair, and yet the duke lies dead at his feet. Determined to contribute to the final victory over Napoleon before standing trial, Butler bolts for the coast. En route, he unwittingly aids the lovely young Duchess of Cuttyngham to escape her gilded cage.Desperate to live a useful life, Rosamund has left her husband's cold and stifling house with the intention of becoming a village herbalist. She no longer believes in love or romance, especially not for herself, and yet by the time she learns of her husband's death - and the identity of his killer - she is already falling in love.Hopelessly entangled with each other, family machinations, officers of the law, and an unusual pair of eloping young lovers - to say nothing of Bonaparte's threat to the peace of Europe - Giles and Rosamund finally arrive in Brussels. But can they defy scandal and the law to be together?After all, how can a widow love the duellist who shot her husband?The DuelEntangledCapturedDesertedBeloved