Debutante Dares

A redheaded bluestocking in desperate need of a wealthy husband. A handsome duke looking for his perfect duchess. And a dare that shows that opposites may not only attract but can be so much more. Lady Tabitha Hampton has the memory of an elephant. But this talent fails to help the twenty-seven-year-old bluestocking attract the attention of a single wealthy suitor. With three sisters of marriageable age, a sickly father, and a series of bad investments that left them impoverished, Tabitha's marriage could save or ruin her entire family. Arthur, the Duke of Collingford, needs a wife but not just any lady will do. Arthur's future duchess must be perfect in every way-fair of face, impeccable manners, with enough social influence to impact his parliamentary projects. When he joins the whirl of the London season, the duke finds an insufferable, redheaded wallflower instead. Tabitha insists she can be the perfect duchess, if he'll only give her the chance. Arthur agrees to test her abilities, but she tests his control. And one taste of her lips is enough to make him question everything. Opposites may attract, but can they cooperate? Or will they lose everything, including their hearts?

The Earl of Abbington is not a daring man. Responsible for the care of an opium-addicted uncle, George's life poses dangers to a bride that he'll never risk. It's why he avoided the independent and kind Lady Jane last year, despite her brother's request he protect her during her season. His neglect no doubt led to Jane's tattered reputation. In reparation, he's sent preapproved suitors to the house party to ensure she marries well, not to a man whose life is a nightmare. Lady Jane is done being daring. Her daring spirit ruined her reputation, her family's social standing, and her brother's marital prospects. But a Christmas house party attended by a coterie of willing suitors can put everything right. Plain of face and ordinary of intellect, Jane knows she'll never find love. She doesn't want it anyway. Love is the most daring thing a woman can do, after all. Instead, she'll develop a system to test her suitors and discover the best husband for a practical sort of marriage. Jane needs George's help choosing a husband, but George soon realizes he can't give it without betraying his own heart. Together, they must find the courage to face the dangers of love or lose the love of a lifetime.

A new year and a new season means a new Lillian Clarke. She's transformed herself from wallflower to incomparable. But she's no Cinderella. She's washed her hands of love and of Lord Devon, her own charming prince who barely knew she existed. She'd rather be the fairy godmother, helping invisible debutantes gain the attention they deserve on the marriage mart. But even though she's booted Lord Devon from her heart, he's not done with her. His sudden appearance at her home and inexplicable teasing threaten to distract her from her debutante dreams. Lord Devon, the second son of duke, has put self-pity and scandal behind him and found a new purpose. He'll invent a machine that improves coffee, buy a coffeehouse, and be a self-made man. He's determined to be more than the heir's spare, privileged but kept in case of emergency. Unfortunately, he needs the assistance of Miss Clarke's brilliant father. And he hates Lillian Clarke for speaking the truth about him. The delectable woman thinks she's better than him. He'll teach her she's not. If he can ignore the way her courage makes him smile. When sparks in the workshop fly, Lillian and Devon invent a passion that's more than they bargained for and complicate their paths to happily ever after.

After the woman he loves rejects his marriage proposal, Edmund Crenshaw, Viscount Escher, has sworn off women. If he can't marry Mrs. Katherine Brighton, he'll marry no one. When he discovers a daring debutante in his coach, intent on seduction, he'll do anything to protect his bachelorhood. He must remain uncompromised or doom himself and the lady to a loveless marriage. Because his heart always has, and always will, belong to only one woman-his Kat. Katherine must escape her younger sister's insidious grasp. This season, she has a heart of steel and a plan for independence. As the secret author of a popular out-of-print book, she will convince the publisher to reprint it and fill her coffers with funds enough to live on her own. The publisher agrees-if she writes a new book as well. But with every moment of her day spent helping her sister, she desperately needs a muse. And Lord Escher, the man whose marriage proposal she reluctantly rejected two years ago, sparks her imagination like no one else. To write her book, she must stay near Edmund. In exchange, he requires her help ridding himself of a persistent miss. They'll solve both problems in no time. If they can keep their hands off each other. Can she protect her heart and her freedom, or will the cheerful viscount tempt her to say yes this second time around?

Lady Edith knows the sting of unrequited love, and now she wants only one thing-to marry a man who desires her or to never marry. But at the season's end, her father threatens to provide a husband if she cannot secure one herself. When a family friend saves her from the unwanted advances of one of their suitors, she falls a little bit in love. With his auburn hair and radical ideas about women, Griffin Paxton, the Earl of Eastern, is perfect. Except he doesn't want her back. Griffin will not be distracted by Lady Edith's diamond-eyed beauty. He needs a wife to fulfill his dying father's wish, and he needs her to be a model of propriety to repair the family reputation his rakish father sullied. When Lady Edith calls herself a rake, he knows she'll never do. He'll have to guard his attraction to her fiery spirit and open heart behind thick ice walls and look elsewhere. But when Edith suggests they forge a fake engagement to appease both their fathers, Griffin can't refuse. She needs his help, and he never ignores a damsel in distress. Will a fake courtship bring out their rakish desires, or will it offer a home to two hurting hearts?

Lady Sarah Hampton would rather sew up a wound than tend to her own heart. Or matrimonial prospects. When the small hospital she's been volunteering at faces financial peril, she seeks to save them the best way she knows how-one dare, one wager, and one foolish rake at a time. No matter the risk to herself. If her friend's irritatingly handsome and brutish brother doesn't stand in her way. Xavier Evans, Viscount Flint may be known as the Dare King to his old chums, but to Lady Sarah, he's the King of Brutes. He'd take offense if he weren't so busy trying to be a better man, the type who rises above insult, never gives it, and protects his family. But when his sister's happiness hinges on her friend's safety, he'll have to figure out how to keep the sharp-tongued and beautiful Lady Sarah-who hates him-safe, too. Sarah is willing to risk it all, and Xavier will do what it takes to stop her. As the game of dares draws them closer, it reveals a hidden threat, and these enemies must work together or hurt those they love . . . including each other.