Love and Temptation

Miss Honaria Honeyford was sent to London to save the family fortune by hunting a wealthy husband, and, being a loving if not entirely dutiful daughter, she obeyed. But if she was reluctantly willing to surrender her hand, this beautiful young lady - who could ride, shoot, and argue with any man - was not about to lose her head or heart to the dismal dandies of the marriage mart.

"I do not think I want to be married at all. I want to be rich. Very rich...." When Henrietta Bascombe opens a confectionary shop in order to turn her pittance of an inheritance into a fortune, her friends are shocked to hear of such a well-bred lady going into trade. The earl of Carrisdown is both drawn to and repelled by her shopgirl status.

For lovely young Miss Patricia Patterson, life seemed a delightful dream - until the specter of her guardian, Lord Charles Gaunt, cast a shadow over her carefree days of idleness and enchanting evenings of dazzling balls and delicious flirtations. Lord Charles demanded she act the part of a proper and perfectly boring young miss. Even worse, he insisted she devote her waking hours to cultivating her mind rather than captivating her swarm of admirers.

When the boy entrusted to an earl is really a girl, the complications are delightful. The 10th earl of Berham does not know what to do. An attractive 32-year-old bachelor, he has been appointed guardian of the young Freddie Armstrong, the 18-year-old grandson of his late father's dear friend. That's bad enough. Then he discovers that the boy is really a girl! It is against all convention and against his personal code to keep a young lady concealed in his own home. He must find a solution.

Love and jealousy abound in this playful romance, set during the British Regency. Everyone in the bon ton knew that Lord Hubert Challenge had married country mouse Mary Tyre for her dowry, but no one had yet guessed that Mary had actually fallen in love with her husband! And she was willing to try anything - sumptuous clothes, a saucy manner, even flirting with another man - to get her handsome husband's attention...until she learned that two could play at that particular game.

The Davenport sisters were alone, without even a dour-faced maid to supervise their strict puritanical devotions, until the elder, flame-haired Gillian boldly decided it was high time they let their hair down. Now, with the help of a kindly relation, the two daring misses exchange their somber attire for modish gowns and hairstyles that would surely give their parents apoplexy. But the best is yet to come: plum pudding, eggnog, carols, and a most breathtaking tree.

From the top of his flawlessly groomed head to the waxed tips of his fashionable shoes, Lord Andrew Childe was every inch the perfect gentleman. But Andrew's arrogant composure was almost always shattered by the impertinent Penelope Mortimer, an achingly lovely country beauty who had a clear knack for ruffling his lordship's feathers. Her nose for trouble seemed to land Lord Andrew in the most awkward situations - and love itself quickly became the most delicate of them all!

"I am Miss Lamberton. Miss Constance Lamberton. I hoped that you would employ me as your companion." So it was that quiet, reserved Constance came to the household of the haughty but beautiful Lady Amelia. She would serve as the lady's chaperone throughout the season's many festivities, finding herself an unwitting accomplice in Lady Amelia's scheme to trap the very eligible Lord Philip into marriage. But it was not Lady Amelia who won Lord Philip's heart.