Sheila Simonson
~Orphaned children, meddlesome cousin, negligent heir--recipe for catastrophe? Or for love?~
When Lady Meriden's eldest stepson and husband die within days of each other, the estate passes to the second stepson. No one has seen him in years, yet he inherits everything, including his father's gambling debts and guardianship of his seven siblings. Jane Ash rushes to her aunt's aid. Months go by before the new baron comes, and Jane is left to cope with her ailing, self-dramatizing aunt and bewildered cousins, all of whom have problems. Lady Meriden alternately spoils and neglects them. Julian, the heir, has his own problems and wants nothing less than to play the heavy parent to his unknown siblings. When he does come, will he and Jane form an unexpected alliance that leads to romance?
Judith B. Glad
~Two sisters and an assortment of suitors follow a tangled path with true love the goal.~
Two sisters, one Season. Chloe won't be content with her first Season unless she catches the eye--and the heart--of the ton's most wealthy, most handsome, most interesting bachelor. And she has no intention of sitting around waiting to be noticed. Phaedra just wants the Season to end so she can return to the country, unburdened with anything so useless as a husband. The only thing interesting about London is its cultural treasures, which she intends to sample liberally.
The men in the sisters' court aren't quite sure what to make of them. Lord Wilderlake is intrigued, Mr. Dervigne intends seduction, the Earl of Everingham is enchanted, Mr. Martin wants a big sister, and Reggie Farwell is merely amused. Faced with such an assortment of suitors, how can Chloe and Phaedra realize their dreams? Only time--and the course of true love--will tell.
Sheila Simonson
~When Emily Foster takes up baby-farming to give her young son company, she doesn't bargain on falling in love with the children's scandalous father.~
Captain Richard Falk's brusque manner nearly alienates Emily Foster on their first meeting. Only the realization that her young son needs companions convinces her to take in his two motherless children while he returns to the fight against Napoleon's armies. For the next two years, her only contact with Falk is through his letters, terse messages, but always accompanied by charming stories for the children. She slowly falls in love with the man behind the stories. When now-Major Falk returns for a brief visit before shipping out to North America, she sees nothing of the storyteller in the tired, short-spoken soldier.
Concerned over the fate of his children if he should fall in battle, Falk sets up guardianships. An acquaintance, well-intentioned but misguided, mentions him to the half-sister he has not seen for twenty years. Falk is the son of the widowed Duchess of Newsham, but not of the late duke. Never having been declared illegitimate, Richard has some claim on the estate now held by his half-brother. There is ample evidence that attempts on his life have been made in the past, and now he fears for his children's safety. But he is a soldier, and Napoleon is once again loose in Europe, so all he can do is trust Emily, his friend Tom Conway, and his brother-in-law to protect the children. When Richard returns, wounded, from Waterloo, and speaks of emigrating to keep them safe, Emily knows she must speak her mind--and her heart--or lose him forever.
Lesley-Anne McLeod
~Lady Genia Brierley is trapped by poverty. Lord Wessington's return to society coincides with a time of crisis in her pitiable family. He offers himself as her rescuer. She can only wonder why...~
Lady Iphigenia Brierley is trapped by a poverty that she must conceal from the beau monde. She lives on the fringes of society, satisfying her hunger at the ton parties to which she is invited and gambling to obtain money for clothing. The Marquess of Wessington is wealthy beyond her imagining, and has a respected and admired place in society. His return to London from travels abroad coincides with a time of crisis in her pitiable family. He offers himself first as her friend, then as her rescuer. Finally, he asks for her hand in marriage. But the question to which Genia requires an answer is...why?
Lesley-Anne McLeod
~A grievously wounded Peninsular War veteran and a shy young woman facing a loveless future discover more than the attractions of Bath as they spend their days exploring its streets.~
On his return from the Peninsular War, grievously wounded and troubled in spirit, Alexander Quainton decides that an insouciant manner is the best way to avoid the pity he abhors. Exercising his damaged body with daily walking excursions proves an excellent way of avoiding social engagements. Carolina Finmere, shy and no more than passable in looks, has failed in three seasons to attract a suitor.
For three months, they tramp Bath and its surrounding hills together, gaining in strength and--unwittingly--in intimacy. When September comes it is time to part, unless they admit their love for each other. Carolina knows she must initiate the declarations of devotion, for Alexander is convinced that a man so damaged is no fit mate for a gently bred woman. How can Carolina love someone so scarred and deformed as he?
Plucking up her courage, Carolina declares her love for Alexander. Will he admit his for her, or will his fear of seeing revulsion in her eyes put paid to their blossoming love?
Lesley-Anne McLeod
~The last thing Clementina wants is to fall in love, but then she meets Major Gideon Rhyle. If she accepts his help, can she fail to accept his love? ~
Clementina, eldest daughter of the Marquess of Cheriton, has always been able to solve her family's little problems and discontents. Now the widowed Countess of Carmelth, Clemmie finds herself facing problems she cannot solve alone. Someone is trying to harm her young son, and her brother is missing in action following the Battle of Waterloo. Major Gideon Rhyle may be able to help, but his assistance becomes another problem. For Clemmie falls in love with him and he, wounded and facing an uncertain future, is thoroughly ineligible for marriage.
Lesley-Anne McLeod
~A vicar's sister and a 'nabob' fresh from India find that the Great Comet of 1811 heralds new love and a welcome change.~
A comet, they say, signals change. In a picturesque village in Cambridgeshire, India Pottersby did not think the Great Comet of 1811 would change anything in her quiet life as the vicar's sister. And she was content for it to be so. A difficult life had brought her at last to security with her younger brother in his vicarage, and she had no desire for alteration. Peter Trevayne had likewise come to harbour in the shire after fifteen profitable years in India. His purchase of Fencombe Hall created a stir in the neighbourhood. Speculation was rife, and the doyenne of local society made no secret of her mistrust of the stranger.
Comet watching introduced India to Trevayne, and her preparation of 'comet wine' intrigued him. But nothing could come of their friendship unless the community--and India--could accept change.
Lesley-Anne McLeod
~Miss Emilina Brook, sent by necessity on a coach journey, meets young Dr. Secord Cardew who, she thinks, could be her heart's companion. Or could he?~
Necessity dictates that Emilina Brook supplement her family's income by accepting a position as music teacher in a young ladies' academy. Fate decrees that she meet Dr. Secord Cardew while journeying by stagecoach to the school in a distant town. Dr. Cardew is in turn charming, unkind, amiable, callous, appealing, and occasionally rude. Emilina is drawn to him, but the real Dr. Cardew is a mystery. Is he a worthy admirer or does he have insuperable flaws?
Susanne Marie Knight
~Christmas magic sends Meredith back to Regency times to find true love. But what will happen when the twelve days of Christmas are over?~
A magic Christmas card sends lonely Meredith back in time... then returns her to her own century each morning. A handsome lord proposes, and she accepts, but then finds herself attracted to her fianc‚'s honorable brother. How can she find happiness when she has one foot in the past with the other in the present?
Sheila Simonson
~Why does Lady Elizabeth pursue comets across the night sky when she could be distracted by the Earl of Clanross?~
Elizabeth Conway's greatest ambition is to discover a comet. Unfortunately, she is the eldest of eight daughters of an earl, so her relative expect her to take her rightful place in Society. The heavenly bodies she views through her telescope hold far more fascination for Elizabeth than any mere male, although her perpetual beau, dashing Lord Bevis, would change that if he could.
When Tom Conroy, a distant cousin and the new Earl of Clanross, appears after a year's delay, Elizabeth offers him a cool welcome. He is a dull stick and ill-mannered to boot. Yet he is the only man who has shown respect for her astronomical work, and his concern for her younger sisters' welfare reveals a different side to him. Then his heir, Elizabeth's cousin Willoughby, appears with the obvious intent of making a match between his lovely but silly sister and Clanross--and with making as much mischief as he can. Lord Bevis presses his suit with Lady Elizabeth, until she agrees, at long last, to marry him. She resists making an announcement, though, until he tells his somewhat traditional father that he will not only be marrying an heiress but her telescope.
Elizabeth discovers a comet. Clanross proclaims his pride in her accomplishment, but Lord Bevis's reaction is far more traditional. Willoughby introduces a beautiful woman into the mix and the twins further complicate it. Distraught, confused, perhaps even heartbroken, Elizabeth faces the question of what to do with the rest of her life. And what to do about Clanross, whom she just might love.
