When the dangerous men who killed her husband in a political assassination threaten Ara, Duchess of Burghly, the Crown assigns her a bodyguard. But the man charged with protecting her is no stranger. He’s Clayton Ludlow, the bastard son of a duke and the first man she ever loved. Eight years after he took her innocence and ruthlessly abandoned her, he’s back in her drawing room and her life. This time, she’s older, wiser, and stronger. She will resist him at any cost and make him pay for the past.

Jasper Sutton—London’s most dedicated scoundrel—needs a wife, and he needs one quickly. He needs one yesterday, in fact. His requirements are precise: she must be capable of mothering the wild twin daughters who have unexpectedly appeared in his life, and so must possess the patience of a saint and the understanding of an angel. Better still if she is plain and has no expectation of a true marriage. He is not about to reform his ways. 

Lady Clementine Hammond may be polite society’s most notorious matchmaker, but she’s perfectly happy remaining unattached herself. A series of unfortunate missteps at a country house party, however, leaves her with no choice but to feign an engagement to the last man in all England she’d ever want to marry—the annoyingly handsome Marquess of Dorset.

The gossips say his soul is as black as his cravats. Handsome, enigmatic Duncan Kirkwood is the prince of London’s most exclusive—and wicked—gaming club. He founded his empire upon one goal: gaining vengeance against the man who sired him and abandoned his mother. To society, Lady Frederica Isling is a quiet, proper duke’s daughter and wallflower. No one suspects she harbors a secret desire to become a renowned novelist. She’ll go to any lengths to conduct research for her manuscript, including infiltrating Kirkwood’s notorious club disguised as her brother.

Trevor Hunt, the Duke of Ridgely, has been called many things, most of which are true. Reviled by his family, hated by many, he's earned his reputation in the seedy streets of London and more than his fair share of bedchambers. But battling deadly foes and irate husbands failed to prepare the duke for the most troublesome role he's played yet: guardian to one maddening hoyden.