Showing results by author "Linda Rae Sande" in All Categories

While on a visit to London to visit her uncle and his new wife, Marianne Slater is happy to attend the Season’s entertainments - even if she can’t see very well. The world is a blur unless it’s close-up. Usually a wallflower at balls, Marianne is stunned when a gentleman approaches and offers to escort her in the gardens. A clear-eyed, innocent kiss suddenly results in the blurry whirlwind of a quick wedding and its subsequent aftermath.

When Isabella believes she has witnessed her mother's murder at the hands of her father, she rides off to London in search of the Earl of Norwick, the man her mother always said she could go to in case of trouble. To keep her safe, Octavius, Duke of Huntington, agrees to hide Isabella in his country estate - and to allow her access to his stables and horses. But what about his heart?

Nothing makes a man more lonely than his secrets. The same might be said for women. Godfrey, Viscount Thorncastle, has a secret he’d rather not tell anyone, including the woman for whom he has held a candle for more than 20 years. Elise Burroughs Batey, the widow of Lord Lancaster, has had enough of marriage, but pining for the chance at motherhood, she may just have to consider Godfrey’s proposal. If he can just get it right. The man has some preconceived notions about his true love, none of which are true. But then, she has some of the same notions about him.

Having lost her husband in the Battle of Ligny, Lady Lydia Barrymore is determined to resume her work for the Foreign Office when her mourning period is over. She's spent a year solving puzzles and assembling dissected maps to maintain her skills. Her first assignment has her perplexed, though - do what she must to help a fellow operative recover his sanity. Although she finds the man rather beautiful, Sir Donald has also proved most annoying.

The Earl of Fennington has a secret identity - that of Mr. Pepperidge, editor of London's premiere gossip rag, The Tattler. While attending a garden party as Fennington, he meets and falls in love with an earl's daughter. The attraction is mutual, for despite knowing better, Lady Emelia allows him to kiss her behind a hedgerow. Who will know but them? When the earl asks permission to marry Emelia, her father denies him, requiring him instead to court Emelia for eight weeks. He's only allowed to see her once each week, however. Desperate to spend more time with her, Fennington devises a scheme in which he'll be able to do just that, but in disguise. Emelia will have to meet Mr. Pepperidge in the park once a week to provide him the on-dit she hears whilst paying calls in Mayfair parlors. That, or he'll print the news of her kiss with Fennington in The Tattler!

When archeologist Dr. Stewart Jones, a duke, goes missing and is feared dead while searching for an important Greek artifact, explorer Harold Tennison, Earl of Everly, is pressed into service by fellow members of the Royal Society to find him. Since Harry has already planned an expedition to the Cyclades to search for rare birds and flowers, he sets off for the Aegean to begin his quest. On his last visit to Delos, Harry was blessed with a visit from a young woman - his very own version of Aphrodite.

After eight years in the British Navy, Will Slater returns to London to resume his life as the son of a marquess. He's determined to discover what's become of Lady Barbara. An earl's daughter, she pledged her love on their last night together and now seems to have disappeared from Society. Will's bastard brother, Stephen, served with him on his last ship and is ready to attend every ball and soirée necessary to earn acceptance in the ton.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but what about his mistress? Henry Forster has loved only one woman his entire life. Sarah, a farmer's daughter, bore him a son when he was merely the nephew of the Earl of Gisborn. Despite Henry's numerous proposals, Sarah has refused to marry him, claiming he must seek a wife suitable to his rank. And now that he's inherited the earldom and needs a legitimate heir, he is determined to find a biddable wife but keep Sarah as his lover and his young son in his life.

They say time heals all wounds, but what of those left by love? Having barely survived the fire that killed his family, Joshua Wainwright reluctantly begins his reign as the new Duke of Chichester. He is still recovering from his burns when he returns to Wisborough Oaks, the family seat in Sussex where the fire occurred. With reconstruction underway and a backlog of estate business to complete, the very last thing Joshua can handle is the sudden appearance of Lady Charlotte, the daughter of the Earl of Ellsworth.

A sensual tale of four suitors’ pursuits of a former maid - as told by a lady. Being a maid was much simpler than being the illegitimate sister of an earl. Lily Harkins has learned that lesson the hard way. Now, she has not one, but four aristocratic suitors. Her brother will expect her to choose one. Trouble is, she doesn’t want any of them. The handsome clerk she recently met, however, is another story entirely. She’ll just have to convince her brother that marrying a commoner wouldn’t be a huge mistake. And she knows just how she’s going to do it.

After four Seasons and no prospects, Lady Samantha is resigned to life as a spinster. Her aunt, Caroline Fitzsimmons, Viscountess Chamberlain, has another option in mind - she insists they set sail to Italy for a tour she hopes might allow her charge to meet and marry a European aristocrat. His coal mines having suffered a multitude of disasters, Ethan Range, Marquess of Plymouth, is determined to secure a recent invention from an Italian count to alleviate the danger of fires.

When her friend, Lady Samantha, spies a rather handsome groom from her bedchamber window, Lady Julia agrees the man is far too handsome to be a groom. "He could be a gentleman", she tells Sam, thinking it wouldn't be too difficult to teach the servant how to speak and dance and dress like a gentleman. Doubting Julia can accomplish such a task, Samantha dares her to do just that - and in time for the Mayfield ball - in just three weeks!

While her brother, the Earl of Everly, is away on one of his lengthy expeditions, Lady Evangeline is left behind in London to spend her days creating exquisite embroideries and reading books. She's about to buy The Story of a Baron at The Temple of Muses when Lord Sommers suddenly appears. He's intent on buying the very same book, but there's only the one copy. Desperate to discover what changes his publisher might have made to his story - without letting on he's the author - Jeffrey suggests they read it together.

When Clarinda married the Earl of Norwick, she thought she was marrying the Fitzwilliam twin who courted her. Little does she know that it was David's identical twin brother Daniel, the spare heir, who captured her heart with pink roses and delectable kisses. So when the rakish David married her and made her his countess, an embittered Daniel left London to oversee the earl's estates in Sussex.

A viscount's son and a bare knuckle boxer, Michael Cunningham is more interested in building his fortune than spending time at the Marriage Mart. But long ago, he promised his mother he would get married "if not before, then on the eve of my 28th birthday."

Having just inherited his uncle's viscountcy, George Bennett-Jones is informed by his mistress that he must find a bride, preferably the daughter of an aristocrat. Through a series of lessons, she instructs George on the finer points of meeting and courting a woman of the ton - and she has one in mind for him.

Widower Sir Adam Wilson has put off remarrying in favor of seeing to his textile business and the tenants farmers who work the fields. At thirty-five and a father of a young daughter, he can no longer ignore his need for an heir. When he discovers how his grandfather found his Lady Wilson, he decides to do the same—run a bride contest at the local fair.

When Ivy, Countess of Ritchfield, arrives at the earldom’s country estate for one of the chilliest Christmases on record, she discovers she won’t be alone for the holiday. Her husband of nearly thirty years is already there. Robert’s unexpected presence means they’ll be forced to spend time together—something they haven’t done much of for the past decade.

While departing the first ball of the Season, dowager countess Persephone discovers there’s an intruder in her coach. She’s momentarily shocked, until she realizes she knows the man. They had briefly been lovers years ago. But how did he end up in her coach, apparently three sheets to the wind? Jack, Earl of Wilmington, is sure he was drugged during the ball, for what else could explain his splitting headache and loss of memory? But who put him in Lady Castlewait's coach? And why?

Armed with a list of eligible ladies for his heir, Viscount Bostwick is ready for the Season…or is he? Inspired by his father’s marriage to a dowager duchess, Ertuğrul heads to London with his English friend David Bennett-Jones, heir to the Bostwick viscountcy. They plan to attend the Season’s entertainments, intent on finding brides.