Charlotte Louise Dolan

A wanton accident forever changes Elizabeth Goldsborough's life. At one moment the season's reigning beauty and engaged to its most eligible bachelor, at the next her beauty is destroyed and she's robbed of her future prospects as loving mother and wife. Her brother knows who's responsible and searches out Captain Darius St. John. An eye for an eye and a husband for a husband is his motto.

At fifteen, the shy Lady Gloriana 'Anne' Hemsworth was already taller than most men. Rescued from her situation as the poor yet excessively grateful charity object of vulgar relatives intending to trade on their one titled connection, Anne goes to live with her great-aunt. Her education in the hands of the eccentric Lady Sidonia that has no time for men, who in her opinion are useless sniveling cowards, is an excellent preparation for her future as a governess. When Anne meets the angelic twin horrors of Wylington Manor, not to mention their guardian, she needs all the wits and stratagems her unusual education can boost. Unfortunately, Lady Sidonia instructions had been lamentably short on the subject of love.

It was all Napoleon's fault. If it hadn't been for Bonaparte's determined pursuit of power and glory, her father would not have been killed at Trafalgar, leaving his family destitute. If it hadn't been for Napoleon's war with just about everyone, Joanna's brother would not have used their meager inheritance to purchase a commission in the army and go racketing all over Europe, leaving her to her uncle's less than tender mercies. And if it was not for the Corsican upstart then Joanna's best friend would not go to Brussels to be part of the mad gaiety in that city. What was a girl to do?

After her first two fiancées died and other suitors met with untimely ends, Meribe Prestwich acquired the reputation of a cursed woman - any man foolish enough to search out her company was certainly courting death. In fact, the younger men made it a test of their manhood to stand up with the unfortunate young woman. Demetrius Baineton, Lord Thorverton was outraged to be called upon to rescue his younger brother from her influence. Could these addlepated superstitious fools not see beyond such arrant nonsense to the lovely girl herself? Although he's sworn to remain a bachelor for life, Demetrius decides to befriend Meriba; determined to refute her unwarranted reputation by staying alive and well. She's really the loveliest girl but not at all the wife he would chose - if he wanted to marry.

Lady Cassiopeia Anderby might be the daughter of one Earl and the sister of another but for her there was not the life in luxury common for women of her breeding. Her father had been a rake and a wastrel and her brother worse. His latest scheme was his most despicable to date - Cassie was to be sold, preferably in marriage, to a man rich enough to tow the dissipated brother out of River Tick. The last man he would chose was the not quite acceptable Richard Hawke, whose past was as shady as his ancestry. But Richard, although his armor was less than shiny, was a true knight bent on rescuing the fair maiden - and ruthless enough to carry it through to a successful end.

Having unexpectedly inherited the title, Gabriel Rainsford, Lord Sherington is instantly beset by rapacious relatives insisting it's his sacred duty to lavishly entertain them over the holidays. Tired of his obstinate servants' efforts to make him conform to tradition and his mistress' not so subtle hints he marries her, he sets off, alone, to visit his northernmost estate. On the way he encounters Miss Verity Jolliffe, plain spinster and drudge to her selfish family. She's the first woman not trying her feminine wiles on him and the more he learns about her the more certain he is that he's found exactly what he's looking for - the perfect wife. Now all that's needed is to convince Verity he's the perfect husband.

Berthia Pepperell cursed the day her grandfather made her his sole heir. Not only was she beset by fortune hunters, now one of her odious cousins had hired assassins to kill her! It was an ingenious scheme to be sure but even the best laid plans are subject of the whims of fate. Fate had made Digory Rendel take out his boat for an early fishing trip and fate had let the fog roll in, thus obscuring him from the villains' view and help him to rescue a true maiden in distress. But there was no security for Berthia outside of marriage and how could the baseborn son of the detestable Earl of Blackstone, not to mention a former smuggler, be considered a suitable husband for the most proper Miss Pepperell?