Castles & Courtship

Lady Verity wants nothing more than to provide a safe home for her sister, whose simple-mindedness is often misunderstood. When Lady Verity's father and husband both die, passing their house to a stranger, she vows to do whatever she must to ensure her sister's safety. The new earl has a reputation for being a rake, and Lady Verity is prepared to make him an offer he cannot refuse. Daniel Palmer has run from his past for years, hiding from his failures and inadequacies by burying himself in cards, drink, and women. When a distant cousin and his heir both die, leaving Daniel with a title, house, and responsibilities he does not want, Daniel's impulse is to run. But his mother has different plans, and she invites the previous earl's widow and her two daughters to Arden Castle so they can become acquainted on neutral territory. When the countess and her daughters arrive, Daniel quickly learns that Lady Verity is hiding something from him. But as he grows closer to the truth, he learns that not everything is as it seems-and how to measure the true worth of a soul. “A Noble Inheritance” is a sweet and clean Regency romance about reforming a rake and the trials faced by people with special needs in the 19th century.

The arrangement may well be suitable, but is it bearable? As the new Earl of Lismore, it is Sandy Duncan's duty to save both his family and Lochlarren Castle from impending ruin. He has always known he must marry well, but his father's deathbed revelation of a slew of other debts creates an unexpected urgency to the situation. With his last breath, Sandy's father extracts a promise from him to accept the match he has arranged: a marriage to the daughter of a low-born but wealthy English merchant. While Juliana Godfrey has never had the recognition of Society's most elite, she has been able to take comfort in what she does have: money-and she has that in spades. Her father's newest ambition to marry her into the aristocracy, however, could provide her with both things. The fact that the Duncans are Scots-and Highland ones, at that-is not ideal, but an earldom simply cannot be refused. Despite being the face of the Duncan family's salvation, Juliana's reception at Lochlarren Castle is less than warm. As for the earl, he is bewildered to find his prospective bride arrogant and condescending, evidently expecting her future family to be barbaric. In spite of such shaky foundations, however, the match must proceed, bleak as the future may be to both participants. Will first impressions stand against the intimacy marriage brings, or are money and title all Sandy and Juliana can truly hope for from their union?

She wants to be left alone with her family's castle. He wants to show off the home he has just inherited. Neither of them can win. Marianne Edgewood is perfectly capable of running Brindale Castle, if only the task would be left to her. A centuries-old house of stone is solid, unchanging, whereas people are not to be relied upon. It matters little that a stranger inherited the castle. She must simply find a way to stay. At last, fate has been kind to Peregrine Osborne, and he has won the approval of his baron uncle, his London friends, and the deed to a castle in Kent. He certainly deserves his success after suffering a series of setbacks through no fault of his own. If only the property's comely resident, Miss Edgewood, didn't stand in the way of his urgent attempts to bring the castle to its proper glory. When Perry embarks on a whirlwind renovation of Brindale, Marianne proves to be confoundingly resistant to his efforts. As Perry finds it increasingly difficult to make her see things his way, he begins to question whether having his way at all costs is worth forcing Marianne from everything she has ever known. And Marianne must decide whether a cold pile of stones is truly a replacement for a warm, beating heart. Jennie Goutet is the best-selling author of several Regency and Georgian romances, including the Clavering Chronicles, Memorable Proposals, and Daughters of the Gentry series. Her books have received first place in historical romance for the New England Reader's Choice Awards and have hit the number one spot in Regency Romance on Amazon. They have been featured on BookBub and Hoopla, and are translated into five languages. Jennie is an American-born Anglophile who lives with her French husband and their three children in a small town outside of Paris. Her imagination resides in Regency England, where her best-selling proper Regency romances are set. You can learn more about Jennie's books and sign up for her newsletter on her author website: JennieGoutet or visit her shop at JennieGoutetBooks.