The Mysterious Marquess

He disappeared years ago. Now he’s back, more mysterious than ever…

The Prodigal Peer…

Lucien, Marquess of Lynnfield, disappeared from the family seat nearly a decade ago, and now he’s back, ready to take his inheritance in hand. Questions swirl–Where was he? Why return now? What sort of man has he become?–and Lucien can’t offer much in the way of explanations. All he knows is, the dearest companion of his youth, Lady Penelope Richard, is being courted by a handsome cad, and Lucien cannot allow her ladyship to waste her future on a scoundrel.

Or the Return of the Rogue?

Penelope hasn’t seen Lucien for years, but she’s been too angry with him for abandoning her to forget him. He broke her heart when he left the first time, and she is quite, entirely, completely over him–almost–until old passion stir backs to life, hotter and more dangerous than ever. If Lucien and Penelope are to share their hearts as well as searing kisses, they will have to overcome their worst fears and outwit an enemy who will do anything to keep them apart.

A Gentleman in Search of a Wife

Lord Julian Caldicott accepts a request to search for the missing wife of Mr. John Tait. Evelyn Tait disappeared five years ago, and as Julian attempts to follow a cold trail, he meets with resistance, lies, and suspicion from those who should seek most eagerly to aid him. Matters grow more complicated when the investigation drives a wedge of silence between Julian and his dear friend Hyperia West.

Julian battles his own past, unexpected enemies, and Hyperia’s disapproving brother while searching for the prodigal wife, and just when he’s tempted to give up in disgust, he realizes the lady is in serious danger. She needs not only to be found, but also to be rescued from imminent peril, no matter the cost to Julian or to the dreams he’s dared to begin to cherish.

The Dreadful Duke

He’d rather carry hod in hell…

Finn Cathcart, an increasingly successful sculptor, is having a perfectly fine time on the Continent cavorting with alabaster nymphs and marble goddesses (so to speak), when he’s informed that a ducal title awaits him back in England. The same family who disowned Finn’s father now needs an heir to prevent all their wealth from falling into Crown’s greedy hands.

…She’d rather he did too.

Wilhelmina Cathcart is the widow of the previous ducal heir, and she has no patience with fledgling peers who come grumbling to their honors. Mina has a daughter to raise, meddling family to manage, and no time to explain Mayfair society to a stubborn, backward, contrary duke… even if he is charming and a good listener. Mina and Finn are on the point of admitting a powerful attraction when an enemy close at hand threatens to ruin their hope of a happily ever after. They will have to work together, and put aside both well earned pride and treasured prejudices, if their shared dream is to bloom into a shared future.

A Gentleman in Pursuit of Truth

Lord Julian Caldicott is summoned to the country home of a family friend to look for a prize foxhound who’s gone missing. The purloined canine turns out to be only the tail of a series of puzzles involving family secrets, slander, blackmail, and fraud. Matters grow more baffling when Julian is told to drop the investigation, though suspects abound, motives are multiplying apace, and a large sum of money has come into play.

Julian survives an attempt on his life, and endures slights to his honor rather than give up on his objective. Before the truth is revealed–and the hound brought safely home–he will have to choose between protecting his only surviving brother from ruin, or allowing a scoundrel to get away with the next thing to murder.

Worth More Than Rubies

All the Duke of Dunfallon wants this holiday season is a respite from the machinations of the matchmakers. When pursued by a particularly determined would-be duchess, he ducks into the West Bartholomew Street Lending Library. Librarian Emerald Armstrong sees a dapper gent in a bit of a hurry and mistakes Dunfallon for a curate overdue for his assignation with West Bart’s theological collection.

Dunfallon is intrigued by Emmie’s love of books, her disdain for society’s games, and her ferocious generosity of spirit toward all of the library’s patrons. She has no patience with posturing, and thus he takes the risk of admitting his true identity. To his surprise, Emmie doesn’t mind all that much that he’s a duke—some things cannot be helped—but she is far less willing to keep silent about Dunfallon’s other secret, the one he has been guarding from even his fellow peers.

If an honest woman is worth more than rubies, what will a duke sacrifice to earn her love?

Note: This story was half of Yuletide Gems, a novella duet originally published as a web store/library exclusive in 2022.

Miss Dramatic

Don’t be so dramatic!
Gavin DeWitt has given up a career on the stage to take his place among the respectable gentry of Crosspatch Corners. His older sister has married quite well, and now it’s Gavin’s job to ensure he and his younger siblings make an excellent impression on polite society too. He’s handsome, witty, charming–and quietly dying inside from lack of purpose–but nonetheless playing the role of country gentleman desperately well.

Will it be kisses… or curtains?
Enter Mrs. Rose Roberts, a widow from Gavin’s theatrical past. She broke his heart when last they parted, but oddly enough, he broke her heart too. Can they piece together what really happened and forge a future together, despite the forces of mischief and mayhem plotting more fiercely than ever to keep them apart?

A Gentleman in Challenging Circumstances

Lord Julian Caldicott, still recovering from his years at war, is tasked with investigating the circumstances of a small boy who could be either the salvation of the Waltham dukedom or a pawn in a scheme to sink the Caldicott family in endless scandal. The boy is alone in the world, though any one of several women might be his mother, and they all claim that Julian’s brother, the late Lord Harry Caldicott, was the child’s father.

To uncover the boy’s parentage, Julian must face demons from his own past, solve puzzles left behind by Lord Harry, and thwart enemies who wish the lad harm for reasons of their own. His investigation takes him from barracks, to brothels, and to Hyde Park by dark of night. The longer he searches, the more tangled—and dangerous—the mystery becomes, for Julian and for the innocent child who deserves to know the truth of his own birthright.

Miss Dashing

She’s learned to ask for nothing…

Miss Hecate Brompton is on the shelf and relieved to finally be there with her personal wealth in tact. She faces enough challenges keeping her rackety family from scandal and ruin without the added bother of marriage. When Phillip Vincent approaches her with a request to become his de facto finishing governess, she’s both appalled by and sympathetic to his plan. She was once the awkward outsider, and knows exactly how treacherous the waters of the Beau Monde can be for the unsuspecting.

To win her love, he will sacrifice everything.

Phillip is mere gentry at heart, and the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair leave him frankly bored. For the sake of his family he must nonetheless learn to do the pretty. Miss Hecate Brompton, is anything but glittering. She’s quiet, proper, plain, and–to Phillip–utterly fascinating. He sees what society does not: Behind Hecate’s demure facade lurks a fierce heart and a brilliant mind.

Hecate’s family has no quarrel with Phillip stealing her heart, but her fortune and her hand in marriage are quite another matter. Can the squire and spinster find a happily ever after when all of polite society intends to deny them exactly that?

The Sweetest Kisses Trilogy

NOTE: The Sweetest Kisses series was originally published in 2015, and went on hiatus in 2022. The republished versions are slightly updated (does anybody watch DVDs anymore?) and sporting spiffy new covers!

Books 1-3 of the Sweetest Kisses series

A Single Kiss

Book 1 in the Sweetest Kisses series

The last place she wants to be…

Attorney and single mom Hannah Stark agrees to spend six months helping out in her new employer’s family law department, though an upbringing in foster care has left her determined never to set foot in a domestic relations courtroom.

… and the first guy she’s ever really wanted to be with.

Single dad Trenton Knightley, the law firm’s family law expert, loves his job and isn’t looking for complications. Then Hannah and Trent are thrown together on one tough case after another, and as Hannah grows less and less pleased with her vocation, she’s increasingly impressed with Trent. Trent is taken with Hannah as well, and not simply for her courtroom skills.

Hannah is out of patience with the law, but does that mean there’s no room in her life for another lawyer?

 

The First Kiss

Book 2 in the Sweetest Kisses series

She’s doing just fine on her own…

Classical pianist Vera Waltham is recovering from a bad break up by taking a hiatus with her daughter in the Damson Valley countryside. She’s content with her music, and has no interest in complicating her life with further attempts at romance.

…and he swears he’s doing just fine too.

Attorney James Knightley is a numbers guy who reads contractual fine print for fun, and he wants nothing to do with damsels, in distress or otherwise. Nobody is more surprised than James when he falls for Vera, and the only deal on James’s mind when it comes to that talented lady is wedded bliss.

But why settle for merely fine?

Vera is gathering her resolve to resume performing, and handsome, lonely lawyers don’t have a place on her program. Then somebody starts threatening Vera, and her best shot a staying safe is to put her trust in James. Does she dare give him her heart as well?

 

Kiss Me Hello

Book 3 in the Sweetest Kisses series

Her Knightley in shining armor…

MacKenzie Knightley is the best criminal trial attorney in Damson County, but he has no defense against petite, peppery Sidonie Lindstrom, a foster mom who’s moved into the farmhouse where Mac and his brothers grew up.

… he most assuredly is not!

Sid is grieving the loss of her brother, worried she’s about to lose her foster care license, and in no mood for romantic nonsense when Mac drives up the lane. And yet, he’s good with her horses, good with her foster son, and just the sort of solid, trustworthy, guy she might fall for—until she learns that he’s not at all what he appears to be.

A Gentleman of Dubious Reputation

A matter of matrimony…

Lord Julian Caldicott is summoned to the family seat by his ducal brother, whose bachelorhood is imperiled by the very determined Lady Clarissa Valmond. As the only titled Eligible the hostesses avoid including on their guest lists, Julian has little sympathy for the duke’s situation. He nonetheless agrees to lend a hand, because Clarissa is the last person who should be wearing the Caldicott family tiara.

…and mayhem!

The situation takes a nasty turn when Clarissa’s brother, a talented artist, goes missing shortly before his debut London exhibition. Julian must unravel conflicting motives, dishonest witnesses, confusing evidence, old lies, and the real threats facing the duke if he’s to find the errant viscount before a fate worse than ruin befalls both surviving Caldicott brothers.