Showing results for "never" in Regency

Always the widow and never again the bride—her one chance of happiness lost… Mrs. Elizabeth Howard had believed her marriage to be a love match; she was wrong. So when a stranger offers her something she simply cannot refuse, she consoles herself with the knowledge that no one will ever know. Until nine months later. Because after her husband dies and leaves her a widow, Elizabeth does have some perks. She's well-respected, of course, and no one questions whether the child is a Howard or not…

Lady Emmaline Fitzhugh, a hopeless romantic, is tired of sitting with the wallflowers, waiting for her betrothed to come to his senses and marry her. When Emmaline reads one too many reports of his scandalous liaisons in the gossip rags, she takes matters into her own hands.

Miss Polly Kent has no illusions about finding love. Not only is she a wallflower, but her freakish ability to read others’ emotions has led to devastating rejection, time and again. When it comes to her future, she knows that a marriage of convenience, one in which she can keep her secret affliction hidden, is the only safe choice. Yet, when fate throws her into the path of the ton’s wildest rake, she discovers that desire can jeopardize the most carefully laid plans.

Elizabeth Bennet is living a lie. She’s known since she was fifteen that she isn't truly a Bennet, but who is she? Are the people and places that appear in her dreams just a sign of her active imagination, or are they memories of her true family? Could the stories she'd told Jane when they were children not be stories at all?

Christopher Ansley, Earl of Waxham, has constructed a perfect image for the ton - the ladies love him and his company is desired by all. Only two people know the truth about Waxham's secret. Unfortunately, one of them is Miss Sophie Winters. Sophie Winters has known Christopher since she was in leading strings. As children, they delighted in tormenting each other. Now at one-and-twenty, she still has a tendency to find herself in scrapes, and her marital prospects are slim.

Lady Vesper Lyndhurst is beautiful, clever, and popular. Afforded every luxury as a duke’s daughter, she fills her days with friends, intrigues, and a self-professed knack for matchmaking. She may have sworn off love for herself, but she is rather excellent at arranging it. Faced with an insolvent estate, the Duke of Greydon has no choice but to return to England in a final attempt to revive his family’s fortunes. He’s been gone for years, happy to have escaped his mother and the petty circles of the ton. To his dismay, not much has changed, including the beautiful heiress next door.

RITA Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Mary Jo Putney is justly celebrated as a master of the Regency romance. Here Alexander Randall is the last heir to the Earl of Daventry and he must find himself a bride. His prayers are answered in the form of distressed midwife Julia Bancroft. But though their union would benefit both parties, Julia is reluctant to surrender her heart.

Miss Theodosia Ashbrooke does not believe there is anything greater than matching the perfect pair—and she's become rather expert in it. Never mind that she's never found the missing half to her own soul and body. Perhaps that's not her lot in life, even at the age of eight and twenty. Her own failure is Albemarle Howard, Earl of Lenskeyn. He's rude, he's arrogant, he's overly confident, and nothing Theodosia can do makes a difference. Albemarle has found his match though: and he is sure it is Theodosia.

After being jilted, Margaret Stredwick has sworn off men and marriage. What she needs is a holiday. But a detour along the way takes a surprising turn that leads Meg to him. And soon she starts to wonder if she should indulge in one grand flirtation before she’s firmly on the shelf. The instant Lucien Ambrose, Duke of Merleton, finds a strange woman touring the halls of his ancient estate, he knows the minx is up to something. So, when a family heirloom is stolen, it’s clear who the culprit is.

Mr. Bennet dies, and Mrs. Bennet's desperation to secure her daughters' futures reaches new levels. When Elizabeth Bennet's home is lost to her, she finds herself in the clutches of a wealthy widow with too much time and money on her hands. Stuck between an obstinate mother and an eccentric woman intent on creating mischief, Elizabeth's only comfort is in Mr. Darcy and his ever-present handkerchief.

Elizabeth Bennet has just experienced one of the most difficult years of her entire life. The loss of a beloved sister, a failed harvest, and the threat of freezing to death from a bitterly cold winter cause the inhabitants of Longbourn to do the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Fitzwilliam Darcy is desperate to keep his family and his tenants alive. The scarcity of food due to a freezing summer has him taking extreme measures. His radical idea takes him, along with his friend Charles Bingley, to Netherfield, where his drastic experiment has the potential to save them all - or ruin his life forever.

Scottish rogue Brodie Kincade has never met a woman he didn't like...or didn't want to seduce. And he's about to meet his match in sweet-tempered, often overlooked Lydia Hunt, an English lady he mistakes for her scheming sister who hopes to snatch him up for a husband.

Once beloved by London's fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most-private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him. Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Bell, into a haven for those in his Free Black community. But when his best friend Kate implores him to find and destroy a scandalously revealing painting of her, he agrees.

Edward Stanhope, the icy Duke of Thornfield, likes his life in a certain order. Give him a strong drink, a good book, and his dog for company, and he’s content. But when he goes to his library and finds a woman sitting in his chair, petting his dog, what starts as a request for her to leave turns quickly to a fiery battle of wits, leading to a steamy kiss that could ruin them both if they’re caught. So, of course, damn it all, that’s when Edward’s aunt walks in and, thereafter, announces Miss Georgiana Bly as the future Duchess of Thornfield.

Having already spent two seasons on the Marriage Mart without a single flutter of her heart, Lady Eloise Bounds has given up on ever finding a love match and accepts the reality of her situation. When the Duke of Ardley expresses interest in having her for his wife, Eloise has no choice but to put away her childish dreams and become the duchess her mother wants her to be.

Lady Harriet Stanhope grew up with her twin brother and his friends, never questioning their laughter or their games - but now she's a young lady, she's desperate for one friend in particular to see her in a different light. But after twenty years of knowing each other, she's just the best friend, not a serious contender for the Duke of Devonshire's heart. Montague Cavendish knows what is due to him and his family name, and he is not fool enough to wish for a love match. He'll find a pretty young thing with plenty of money, and that will be that.

He is the last duke standing...the sole remaining bachelor of the three self-proclaimed Decadent Dukes. Yet, Davina MacCallum's reasons for searching out the handsome Duke of Brentworth have nothing to do with marriage. Scottish lands were unfairly confiscated from her family by the Crown and given to his. A reasonable man with vast holdings can surely part with one trivial estate, especially when Davina intends to put it to good use. Brentworth, however, is as difficult to persuade as he is to resist.

Georgina Whitmore, not accustomed to any man being unaffected by her charms, is plagued with the disappearance and rejection of Simon Fancourt. Twelve years later, Mr. Fancourt returns to British society with two children and a mad hunger for justice. Racing against time, Simon works to uncover the men responsible for his wife's horrific murder, protect his children, and fulfill his father's unexpected will by marrying Georgina—the last thing in the world he wants to do. Though her heart throbs to accept, she would rather lose him again than have his name without his love.

After caring for a crotchety countess, Patience Ramsey wants a more purposeful position. So, when Miss Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency offers her the post of assistant to amateur apothecary Augusta Orwell, Patience jumps at the chance. Then, her new employer introduces her at an Easter house party as the bride-to-be of her nephew Sir Harold Orwell. Miss Thorn’s cat Fortune may approve of Sir Harry, but Patience has no interest in borrowing the handsome baronet. She’s had her heart trampled on by false promises before.

After spending the last 10 years following her late husband on campaign, the irrepressible Jane Kimball finds herself badly in need of a position to support herself. Marriage holds no appeal; she’s not likely to find a husband like her Jimmy again. But when Miss Thorn of the Fortune Employment Agency offers her a post with the Duke of Wey, Jane feels drawn to help the lonely widower with his three daughters. He may seem a bit aloof, but Miss Thorn’s cat, Fortune, approved of him. Why should Jane doubt a duke?