Morgan and Archer

Percival Windham is a second son and a cavalry officer acclaimed and respected by his men. He is immensely attractive and distracts himself with the women who seem to throw themselves at him at every turn. At a country house party, Percy meets beautiful, retiring Esther Himmelfarb. Esther's wealthier relations are taking shameless advantage of her dependence on them, and only Percy seems to see the striking intelligence beneath her modest demeanor.

Thomas Jennings arrives to his newly acquired estate to find that his steward has fled under a cloud of scandal, and the property has been held together by Miss Loris Tanner, the steward's daughter. Thomas knows what it's like to not fit in, and he's pragmatic enough to respect results, so he gives Loris a chance to maintain her position in a profession uniformly undertaken by men.

Shy, bookish Lady Susannah Haddonfield has no patience with loud, smelly beasts of any species, but must appear to like dogs so as not to offend her sister's only marital prospect. Susannah turns to Will, an acquaintance from her most awkward adolescent years, to teach her how to impersonate a dog fancier. Will has long admired Susannah, though he lacks the means to offer for her, and, yet, as they work together to rescue the purloined pets, it's loyal, dashing Will who steals Susannah's heart.

Wealthy wool magnate Tremaine St. Michael is half French, half Scottish, and all business. He prowls the world in search of more profits, rarely settling in one place for long. When he meets practical, reserved Lady Nita Haddonfield, he sees an opportunity to mix business with pleasure by making the lady his own. Nita Haddonfield has a meaningful life tending to others, though nobody is dedicated to caring for Nita.

As a captain in the army, Colin MacHugh led men, fixed what was broken, and fought hard. Now that he's a titled gentleman, he's still fighting - this time to keep his bachelorhood safe from all the marriage-minded debutantes. Then he meets the intriguing Miss Anwen Windham, whose demure nature masks a bonfire waiting to roar to life. When she asks for his help to raise money for the local orphanage, he's happy to oblige.

The elderly and ill fourth Viscount Longstreet summons Darius Lindsey to a discreet meeting, where he proposes the means for Darius to extricate himself from a life of shame and repay his family's debts. William offers him a chance at redemption: Spend a month with his wife, Lady Vivian; get her with child; and he can retire from his life of degradation.

Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from marriage: he will pretend to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn't as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry.... Although, there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon's heart beating a bit faster. But Daphne soon finds herself forgetting that their courtship is a complete sham....

After six unsuccessful seasons, Miss Minerva Dodger chooses spinsterhood over fortune-hungry suitors. But thanks to the Nightingale Club, she can at least enjoy one night of pleasure. At that notorious establishment, ladies don masks before choosing a lover. The sinfully handsome duke of Ashebury is more than willing to satisfy the secretive lady's desires - and draws Minerva into an exquisite, increasingly intimate affair.

Penelope Adair, wife and partner of sleuth Barnaby Adair, is so hugely pregnant she can barely waddle, much less assist, when Barnaby is summoned by Inspector Stokes of Scotland Yard to help investigate the violent murder of a gentleman at a house party. Penelope insists that she and Griselda, Stokes's wife, receive reports to stay duly informed of their husbands' discoveries. But what Barnaby and Stokes uncover leads only to more questions. The victim had been thrown out of the house party days before, so why had he returned? And how did he come to have the famous Finsbury diamonds in his pocket?

The first novel in a new historical romance series from Kelly Bowen.