Dying for a Duke

1815 - Along the wild and untamed coast of Cornwall, smuggling is not only a way of life but a means of survival. Henrietta Morton knows well to look the other way when the free trading 'gentlemen' are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate, known as The Rogue, bursts in on her in the village shop, she takes things one step further. Bewitched by a pair of wicked blue eyes, in a moment of insanity she hides the handsome fugitive from the local militia. Her reward is a kiss that she just cannot forget. But in his haste to escape with his life, her pirate drops a letter.

Blackmailed by his sister into giving a Christmas house party to celebrate her recent marriage, Edward Greyston, Marquess of Winterbourne, is quite certain the next few days will be an utter nightmare. Nightmares, however, are something Edward is all too familiar with. After the bloody battle of Waterloo, he has returned from the war a changed man, full of rage and guilt. Suspecting one of his house guests, the bluestocking Belinda Holbrook is about to trap unsuspecting and gullible Lord Nibley into marriage, he goes to warn him, only to get caught himself. 

Alexander Sinclair, Fourth Earl of Falmouth, has a reputation for rebelling in vice. Wine, women, and gambling are only one side of this dangerous man, for the earl has a second life, leading a criminal gang, smuggling contraband between France and Cornwall. Seeking ever more risk, Alexander often leads his men on their nighttime missions. One unlucky night the revenue men appear, and the smugglers sail into a violent storm in an effort to escape, but the ship and all aboard go down.

Julian Langham was poised on the brink of a dazzling career when the lawyers lured him into making a catastrophic mistake. Now, instead of the concert platform, he has a title he doesn’t want, an estate verging on bankruptcy...and bewildering responsibilities for which he is totally unfitted. And yet the wreckage of Julian’s life is not a completely ill wind. For Tom, Rob, and Ellie it brings something that is almost a miracle...if they dare believe in it.

When the beautiful Lady Isabella Scranford finds herself in the family way and her lover refuses to do the honorable thing, she knows her life is at an end. With a reputation for being a cold-hearted bitch, there will be no sympathy for her, only shame and ridicule. Finding that even her best - and only - friend refuses to be associated with her any longer, Isabella decides she cannot go on and makes a fateful decision. When a filthy and frightening man rescues Isabella from drowning, she begins to believe her fate has taken an even darker turn. Yet appearances can be deceptive....

He vows to never risk his heart again. She hides her love to avoid rejection. A marriage of convenience is not what either of them wished for. Overlooked by society and underappreciated in her family, Ellen Bringhurst has resigned herself to spinsterhood and a life of reading. Until her match-making friends contrive to reintroduce Ellen to the man she has secretly loved since their shared childhood. As the younger son to an earl, Marcus Calvert must wed in order to inherit his estate. Still nursing a broken heart, he prefers a practical approach to matrimony rather than romantic love.

Simon Kingsley is in desperate need of a wife. After years of searching, he finally found love. Unfortunately, she wed another, and now, it is time to settle for someone with whom he can share his life. A friend, a companion, a helpmate. Love is no longer an option for a man whose heart is irrevocably broken. Mina Ashbrook longs for a loving marriage but accepts that at the age of 30, she is unlikely to find it. Facing a lifetime of being the spinster sister living on her brother’s charity, Mina considers something she never thought she would - a marriage of convenience. 

There was no doubt about it, Felicity Oldfield’s grand London adventure had commenced. First, she had been abducted by a peer of the realm, released, then in less than a few hours she had arrived in London for the post of governess, been cast off without a sou, walked the streets of London alone, been pursued by a young gentleman, met a man of bad character who might have led her onto a path of ruination, saved by a rich and fashionable couple in their velvet-lined coach, and was even now being taken to her mad Aunt Ellingham where she expected to be treated appallingly....

A poor village orphan. An unexpected fortune. Can she overcome her humble beginnings to find true love? Regency London. Lavinia Talridge is heartbroken. After the premature death of her mother, young Lavinia is left destitute with no money and no family. Until, in a twist of fate, she discovers that she is wealthy. Before she can believe her new life of privilege is true, Lavinia has an arranged marriage to a handsome gentleman and a chance at love.

Miss Phoebe Westbrook wishes she was anywhere other than at Lord Livesey’s house party. Family loyalty and duty forced her to accept the invitation. When she overhears Lord Livesey’s opinion of her, she knows he feels the same. Determined to make the most of his library whilst visiting, she soon finds herself being drawn into the lives of Lord Livesey and his children, whether she likes it or not. Meanwhile, Lord Livesey has lived a lie. His marriage was not the love match everyone presumed. His children are strangers to him. 

Regina (Reggie) Spark has loved Broderick Killoran, the resourceful and protective proprietor of the Devil’s Den, ever since he saved her from the streets and made her his right hand at the notorious gaming hell. For just as long, Reggie has never admitted her true feelings for him. Nor has she revealed her spirited ambitions - to buck convention and expectations and open a music hall. While Broderick built his gaming empire with ruthless cunning, his loyalty to his employees is boundless.

When the Duke of Ashbury returns from war scarred, he realises he needs an heir - which means he needs a wife! When Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter turned seamstress visits wearing a wedding dress, he decides on the spot that she'll do. His terms are simple: They will be husband and wife by night only. No lights, no kissing. No questions about his battle scars. Last, and most importantly...Once she's pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again. But Emma is no pushover. She has secrets and some rules of her own....

At the age of 25, confirmed spinster Isabella Peregrine is given an unexpected ultimatum by her new step-mother: find a husband or I'll find one for you. Thoroughly in a tizz, Isabella proposes a marriage of convenience to the nearest male to her - who just so happens to be the brooding, intimidating Duke of Blackmore. This sweet and clean regency romance is a standalone novel with a guaranteed HEA.

Life for Victoria Lacey should be perfect. And it is - perfectly boring. Agree to marry a lord who has yet to inspire a single, solitary tingle? Why, of course. Smile as though this is not the thousandth time he's mentioned hounds and hunting? It's all in a day's work for the oh-so-proper sister of the Duke of Blackmore. Surely no one would suspect her secret longing for heart-racing, head-spinning passion. Except, perhaps, a dark stranger...on a terrace...at a ball where she should definitely not be kissing a man she has only just met.

Lady Jane Lovelace has conceived the idea of approaching the most notorious man about town, Lord Charles Welbourne, with a most unique proposition. But when he counters her offer with a condition that he thinks will halt her impudence, much to the surprise of both, she accepts. A novel of passion and intrigue, The Westerby Inheritance is the first volume of this new and emotionally charged romantic saga all played out against a backdrop of elegant 18th-century society.