From the author of Lord St. Claire's Angel comes a Regency short story celebrating the witty and romantic world made popular by Georgette Heyer. When Melony Farramond's betrothed was disfigured in a horrific fire eleven years ago, she succumbed to her fears and terminated the engagement, unable to face the prospect of a long life with a crippled monster. Now a lonely spinster, she's overcome by regret and wishes only to see him one more time, so that they might both put the past behind them. Lord Hartley Kentigern was badly scarred in the fire that took the lives of his father and younger brother, and the tragedy became unbearable when his fiancée broke off their engagement soon after. Sinking deeper and deeper into a morass of cynicism and bitterness and haunted by a rejection he can never excuse, he now lives a solitary life on his estate, resigned to enjoying only fleeting comforts in the arms of an occasional willing woman. With the annual Valentine...

Celestine Simons was of good family, but an untimely death and a shortage of funds forces the homely spinster to take a position as governess at the estate of Lord Langlow and his wife. Never one to bemoan her change in fortune, Celestine is content to spend her days raising and overseeing their children, knowing in her heart she will never have any of her own.Lord St. Claire Richmond, Langlow's brother, is a rogue and seducer, content to while away his days pursuing pleasure—and driving his brother and sister-in-law mad by reducing their female staff to lovelorn fools with his flirtations. When he learns on his annual Christmas visit that the drab Celestine was hired as governess solely to thwart his dalliances, he devises a scheme to both stir her heart and spite his family's interfering ways.But as his game unfolds, the cunning St. Claire discovers this conquest may be more challenging than expected when the thoughtful and intelligent Celestine begins to fire an ache in his own...

A Classic Regency Romance novella celebrating the world first introduced by Jane Austen.Despite her vast wealth, Miss Ariadne Lambert, at the ripe old age of thirty-three, is a plain and aging spinster with little but a fading hope that a knight in shining armor will come to sweep her off her feet. Which makes her the perfect prey for the unscrupulous "Dapper" Dorsey, who would stop at nothing to seduce a needy and wealthy woman and then coldly fritter away her funds in the gaming halls of London. As Ariadne succumbs first to his wily charms and then to his kisses, will her need for affection rob her of her dignity—and her fortune?Viscount Ingram, whose soiled reputation from one especially salacious incident has left him exiled to the sidelines of society, marks his time as a dark and brooding man, tolerated more for his title than his merit. But even he has his standards, and when he learns of a rival's plot to seduce and then steal from a helpless spinster, he vows...

From the author of The Earl of Hearts comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. Lady Emily Sedgely, separated from her husband and bored to distraction after years of solitude in the wilds of Yorkshire, is stirred by a sudden thirst for life and eagerly returns to London for the Season. Back in the swirl of society, she quickly warms to the attentions of an ardent young Frenchman—until a chance encounter with Baxter, her estranged husband, leaves her as confused as ever about her heart's true longings. Baxter, the Marquess of Sedgely, was given to dark moods and an uncertain temper that doomed his marriage. Finding relief in travel, he spent five years gallivanting the Continent and has now returned to London with a comely young mistress—and a dangerous secret. Cavalier about his safety, he discovers a far greater concern—for just one look at Emily...

From the author of The Rogue's Folly comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. Twenty years ago, Beatrice Copland committed a reckless and foolish act of deceit that she's certain ruined the life of a man she'd fallen in love with and led to his wife's death. Now serving as companion to the stern Lady Bournaud, she leads a quiet life and attends to her duties as a kind of penance. But Lady Bournaud, trying to make amends for her own selfish ways, is opening her country estate to a few select guests for the holidays—including the man Beatrice wronged so many years ago. Sir David Chappell spent nearly two decades coming to terms with the haunting memory of his wife's death. When he receives an invitation to Lady Bournaud's for the Christmas season, he's reluctant to go at first, but he's sure the time away in Yorkshire will be a welcome change from London. Once...

From the author of Miss Truelove Beckons comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. Arabella Swinley was once the diamond of the ton, a rare blonde beauty with an exquisite knack for the art of flirtation and a reputation for rejecting an unprecedented number of suitors. Faced now with a dwindling number of offers for her hand, she and her scheming mother are in a panic: if Arabella can't secure a moneyed husband soon, they'll be at the mercy of the debt collectors and left to fend for themselves. When a titled gentleman many decades her senior proposes, Arabella resigns herself to a loveless but secure marriage—even as her eye, and her heart, keep returning to the ruggedly handsome and most unacceptable Marcus Westhaven. Marcus, an adventurer just back from years exploring the Canadian wilderness, is the most unconventional man proper society has ever tolerated,...

From the author of Courting Scandal comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. Phaedra Gillian, the spinster daughter of a vicar, is quietly content to manage the chores in the household she shares with her father and tend to the needs of the less fortunate in their small village. When she discovers the body of a man who's been badly beaten and robbed on the road near their cottage, her compassionate nature compels her to take him in and nurse him back to health. But sheltered as she is from the depravities of the London ton, she's dismayed to learn that the ruggedly handsome Hardcastle is a notorious rake and scoundrel—and a man who stirs unfamiliar and dangerous feelings of physical longing within her. Lord Hardcastle has led a debauched and dissolute life, taking pleasure from women at his whim and shrewdly breaking the fortunes of lesser men in the gambling...

From the author of A Rogue's Rescue comes another Classic Regency Romance novella celebrating the witty and romantic world made popular by Georgette Heyer. With nowhere else to go, penniless Linnet Pelham is forced to take refuge with her sister in London, only to learn that her sister's betrothal to Lord Cairngrove is the scandal of the ton. Never one to shy away from an unpleasant situation and convinced of the couple's devotion, Linnet is determined to see them wed, if only she can persuade Cairngrove's brother, Nic Barton. Nic, a notorious rogue who is all too aware of his dashing good looks, is dead set on preventing his brother's marriage. Even as he schemes to frighten Linnet's sister into walking away from the engagement, he sets his sights on seducing the lovely Linnet with whispered promises of lessons in love. But Linnet has a few lessons of her own to teach, and as the two match wits and spar over their siblings' fate, the undeniable passion...

From the author of Married to a Rogue comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. Lady May von Hoffen has been plagued all her prim young life by the scandalous behavior of her widowed mother and the licentious men she consorts with. When she finally finds herself free of her mother and in sole possession of Lark House, she relishes the sense of decorum and freedom it gives her. But the surprise discovery of the injured Frenchman Etienne hiding on her estate—the man who once rescued her from an attack on her virtue and the only man she's ever been able to trust—turns her newly peaceful solitude into a maelstrom of bewildering thoughts and disturbingly passionate curiosity. Etienne is a self-avowed rake, and even now is on the run from ruthless adversaries who accuse him of trying to murder a marquess and seduce his wife. Following a stabbing that nearly...

From the author of A Rake's Redemption comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. "Donna Lea Simpson is a masterful storyteller. The crafting of the story, the wonder of the romance captured me and reeled me into a timeless love story." —Goodreads Jane Dresden has no patience for the merciless gossip of the ton or the handy hypocrisy of the nobility, and now that her mother has arranged for her to marry the supposedly cruel Viscount Haven, she fears for her future happiness. In an effort to appease her mother and also put an end to her matchmaking, Jane agrees to meet the man, but in a fit of panic runs from the engagement and takes refuge in a country cottage, disguised as a maid. There she meets a kind and comforting local farmer who shares her taste for simplicity and quickly captures her heart. Lord Haven had long ago resigned himself to the...

For as long as she or anyone else can remember, the beautiful but cold Rachel Neville has always adhered strictly to society's rules, and she is now reaping the rewards with an offer of marriage from an eminently suitable fiancé. Yet despite the secure future that lies ahead, Rachel is suddenly questioning her acquiescence to the strictures of the ton—and her future husband. Stranger still, she is preoccupied with thoughts of Colin Varens, a wholly unsuitable man whose proposals she has rejected several times.Colin can't remember a time when his heartfelt declarations for Rachel weren't being rebuffed, but the rough-and-tumble country gentleman has finally come to terms with the rejection—and Rachel's betrothal—and has made peace with her as friends. But as he and Rachel spend more time together, he finds her once-haughty manner thawing into the warmth and vivaciousness that attracted him so many years ago, just as he is finding a growing strength and confidence of his own.As...

From the author of Lord Haven's Deception comes a Regency romance celebrating the witty and romantic world that fans of Georgette Heyer have fallen in love with. "Simpson excels at imbuing her realistic characters with subtle depths!"—John Charles, American Library Association Scarred and hardened by the betrayal of his late wife and his latest mistress, the Duke of Alban decides to withdraw from the depressing swirl of London for a trip to the north, where he can visit his beloved aunt and regain the composure that has deserted him. But his hopes for a serene retreat are dashed by the voluptuous beauty of Kittie Douglas, the young widow who serves as his aunt's companion and stirs a deep longing—and a deep mistrust—within him. Kittie has long heard about the duke's upstanding character and has imagined him to be a paragon of male virtue, but meeting the man leaves her with a distinctly different...

As chaperone to the Season's most desirable young miss, Amy Corbett has two specific duties: to ensure that her charge's reputation remain spotless, and to see her betrothed to an exceptional beau. Given that the coquettish Lady Rowena manages to maintain an air of propriety while being a flirt of the highest caliber, Amy knows her job should be easy—if only the calculating young aristocrat weren't so set on toying with men's hearts, including that of her latest prey, the debauched Lord Dante Pierson.Like other gentlemen of high standing and low tastes, Lord Pierson's restless desire for excitement had driven him into a life of squalor and scandalous social blunders. Finding himself drunk and mud-spattered in a gutter one night, he spies an angelic apparition in a passing carriage and is overcome by a will to reform—surely such a woman could give him hope of rebirth. When he learns that the anonymous beauty is Lady Rowena, he vows to coax that flicker of warmth into a flame.As...

"A surprisingly deep story where the romantic love story isn't the only relationship that grows and develops." —Goodreads Preparing to sail from Jamaica to England, Savina Roxeter knows she should be looking forward to marrying her betrothed and settling into a quiet and comfortable life among the ton, but she can only despair at the thought of leaving the lush and beautiful island she loves for the staid confines of London society. Once on the high seas, however, Savina's thoughts turn only to survival, as their ship is commandeered and she and her party are left stranded on a primitive island with meager provisions and little hope of rescue. Determined not to succumb to their misfortune, the group set about assessing their surroundings and preparing for the rigorous challenge of the days and nights ahead. And while her imperious fiancé, his viperish sister, and even her own father bemoan the harsh conditions, Savina thrives as she becomes...