If Mary Babington-Smith knows nothing else, it's that Lord Edwin Sutton kissed her. Regardless of who-kissed-whom, with the deed witnessed, they have no choice but to carry on with a temporary, fake, engagement. When Edwin sweetens the deal, offering Mary the money she needs to pursue her independence if she can play the lovesick fiancee for two weeks, Mary rises to the challenge. In two weeks, she'll have everything she wants, and this time she'll be the one to walk out of his life.
Despite Sutton's argumentative, self-assured nature, when Mary glimpses a sliver of the boy he used to be, she vows to peel away every layer of armor he uses to shield his emotions. Somewhere underneath that worldly exterior is the kind-hearted man she once loved, but in order to find him, she'll have to give him the power to hurt her . . . and he's already broken her trust once.
Contains mature themes.
In 1814 London, England, a lady is defined as a demure, delicate flower. Miss Francine Annesley is not that lady. If men were like plants, she would have a garden of admirers to choose from instead of the thorn in her side since childhood, Julian Beckwith. But she would make an even worse nun than she does a lady, which will be her fate if she can't dig up a husband before the Season ends. However, Julian is not an option.
With only ten short days left in the Season, Francine doesn't have time to waste on petty squabbles or knee-weakening kisses, even if Julian's offer to fulfill her every wish rouses her curiosity. It seems men are more complicated than plants. Too bad love bloomed at the most inconvenient of times . . .
Contains mature themes.
Romance and adventure abounds in this suspenseful Regency romance series. This set contains books 1-3:
Kissing the Enemy
Frederica Vale is about to cause a scandal that will make her a target of the most dangerous spy network in England.London, 1806. Fredrica “Freddie” Vale would do anything to protect her younger sister. When a dubious benefactor threatens Freddie’s family, he gives the plain girl a mission. To keep her sister safe, Freddie must steal a codebook from enemies of the British crown…
Deceiving The Duke
Well-mannered women don't have careers in 1806 so Philomena St. Gobain disguises herself as a man to attend the Society for the Advancement of Science meetings where she sells her inventions to a select, chosen few. The handsome Duke of Tenwick is not one of those chosen few, so when he corners Phil in the hallway during a clandestine meeting with one of her suppliers, she slips away as quickly as she can. Since she and the Duke have never been introduced and rarely travel in the same circles, Phil is hardly worried about him guessing her true identity ... until he shows up two days later at the ball she is holding with the missing piece from one of her most coveted inventions in his hand.
Tempting The Rival
When newly-minted spy Lord Gideon Graylocke is asked to put his botany skills to the test and concoct a serum vital to the defense of England, he eagerly agrees. Never mind that he has to combine forces with F. Albright, a crackpot scientist with whom he had recently been in a public feud. At least he’ll have a chance to prove this crackpot’s theories are pure bunk.
When Miss Rose Wellesley's father threatens an arranged marriage, she knows she'd better settle on a choice quickly or end up having no say in who she marries. Fortunately, she's garnered a rare invitation to Lady Dunlop's 'Week of Love' house party, an annual affair notorious for matchmaking. Her plans to expedite a proposal would go smoothly if not for the brash younger sister she must chaperone, her outspoken, disagreeable best friend, and the bullish Lord Hartfell who seems determined to dog her every step.
Lord Hartfell embodies every last thing Rose dislikes in a man. He's domineering, tenacious, argumentative, and a little too casual with his nudity for her tastes. Worst of all, Rose can't seem to get him-or his kisses-out of her mind.
Rose is determined to find a more appropriate husband, even if her heart disagrees with how unsuitable the stubborn lord is . . .
Contains mature themes.
Lily Darling knew that marrying a con man was a risk, but her new husband swore those days were behind him. Then he disappears without a word, taking all of her money with him. So when her scoundrel of a husband mysteriously returns, years later, hoping to set things right, Lily guards her heart. But curse the man for being just as breathlessly handsome as the day she last saw him.
Adam Darling never meant to leave his innocent, beautiful wife, but if he hadn’t, he would’ve been sent to prison and Lily’s good reputation destroyed. He can’t blame her for hating him, and now that he’s back, he’ll do whatever he must to prove he never stopped loving her, even if it takes the rest of his life.
But when Lily is blackmailed by someone from their past, she wonders if the reason Adam abandoned her is more complex than a simple con. To find the truth, though, she’ll need to do the impossible—trust him—and with the attraction simmering between them hotter than ever, getting too close could get her burned...
Lady Katherine juggles Christmas festivities, a perplexing cold case, and a wager with the annoying Captain Wayland that will prove once and for all which of them is the better detective.
It's the Christmas season in London, but the holiday festivities don't deter Lady Katherine from investigating a death that happened months earlier. Since the victim was a maid, investigative resources were sparse, and the police hastily wrote it off as a random killing. But Lady Katherine and her friends believe it was nothing short of premeditated murder, and they vow to seek justice.
With her Bow Street Runner friend Lyle acting as a neutral party, Katherine teams up with her friend Prudence Burwick, her maid Harriett, and of course her pug Emma. Wayland has the aid of Pru's fiance Lord Annandale and his valet McTavish.
The two teams race against each other in a hunt for clues that takes them through the servants' quarters, stables, and seedy underbelly of London in search of a dangerous killer who thinks they got away with murder.
Will the best men . . . or women . . . win?
When a tragic accident turns out to be murder, Lady Katherine finds herself embroiled in an investigation tainted by lies and deception.
With conflicting witness testimony, mysterious neighbors who saw the impossible, and a secret someone would kill for, Katherine must dig into the dark side of polite London society to uncover the truth.
Naturally, she has help. Maybe too much help. Along with her loyal maid, Harriet, her pilfering pug, Emma, and her Bow Street Runner friend Lyle, Katherine is joined by budding investigator Pru Burwick and her eccentric Scottish fiance, Lord Annandale. Katherine wouldn't mind their help so much if Annandale didn't keep bringing the insufferable Captain Wayland along.
When the investigation takes a disturbing turn, Katherine gets a lead that indicates someone close to her may not be telling the truth, and she must make a tough decision. Protecting her loved one means keeping a secret from her closest allies. Hopefully it does not also mean letting a killer go free.
To stop a high-society killer, she'll have to play matchmaker one last time . . .
Lady Katherine would rather chase clues than suitors. Her reputation as a matchmaker could give her the cover she needs to follow in her detective father's footsteps. If she catches the Pink Ribbon Killer before he strikes again, she'll win her dowry and her independence in the process . . .
One look through the exclusive Northbrooke estate house party doubles her suspect list. With the help of her trusty maid and her precocious pug, Katherine risks it all to unmask the killer. But is winning her freedom worth putting another debutante in mortal danger?
The last thing Lady Katherine wants is to take the matchmaking job for Mrs. Burwick, whose daughter, Prudence, clearly does not want to be matched . . . until she realizes it provides her the perfect cover to investigate the string of robberies that have been taking place in the holiday town of Bath.
Katherine, her loyal maid, Harriet, and her tenacious pug, Emma, soon find themselves knee-deep in troubled waters as they try to piece together the baffling clues to reveal the truth. To further complicate matters, Katherine's investigation is impeded by the incompetent detective hired by the Marquess of Bath to flush out the burglar.
Now Katherine must juggle advising Prudence on how "not" to land a duke while she dives into the investigation in the hopes of narrowing down the suspects without making waves amongst the aristocracy, some of whom are her primary suspects.
When the burglary attempts turn violent, Katherine must take drastic measures to ensure her detective career isn't all washed up before it even gets started.
If there's anything Joy 'Rocky' Rookwood loves more than the plants she tends to at Tenwick Abbey, it's a challenge; that's precisely why she's agreed to become the latest spy in Morgan Graylocke's household. When she's tasked with going undercover as gardener in another house to ferret out a high-level traitor she jumps at the chance. The only fly in the ointment is that she has to take fellow botanist, and also newly minted spy, Edgar Catterson III with her as backup. Rocky and Catt rarely see eye to eye.
Edgar 'Catt' Catterson III has found new purpose in his role as a spy for the crown so when the Duke of Tenwick gives him an assignment to go undercover he rises to the challenge. Too bad he has to act as assistant to his prickly friend and fellow botanist Rocky. Working with her all day in the confines of the estates hothouse is bad enough, but acting as her subordinate is almost too much to bear.
But as Rocky and Catt try to figure out exactly who the spy is, they discover something neither expected - a growing attraction to each other.
As their relationship heats up, the deadline to unmask the spy before he passes on damaging information at a masquerade ball is looming. Rocky and Catt must meet danger head on even if it means losing each other to ensure the safety of their country.
When newly-minted spy Lord Gideon Graylocke is asked to put his botany skills to the test and concoct a serum vital to the defense of England, he eagerly agrees. Never mind that he has to combine forces with F. Albright, a crackpot scientist with whom he had recently been in a public feud. At least he'll have a chance to prove this crackpot's theories are pure bunk.
Felicia Albright has been her own woman, answering to no one since the age of 17. But when the Duke of Tenwick elicits her aid in helping England, she can hardly refuse. Even more so when she finds out she'll be working with the annoying botanist who has been trying to disprove her research. What better way to help her country and prove that she is right?
But when things don't go as planned, Felicia and Gideon have to not only fight their unwanted, growing attraction but also the evil-doer who seems intent on sabotaging their work. Even worse, it can only be someone within Tenwick Abbey that is trying to subvert their mission. Someone in their midst is an enemy spy. With their research in shambles and their lives in danger, Gideon and Felicia realize they can only trust each other. Will they be able to perfect the serum in time to protect England...and themselves?
