The Eternal Collection Series

Having sailed with Sir Francis Drake, swashbuckling privateer Rodney Hawkhurst yearns for a galleon of his own with which to plunder the Spanish Main in the name of Queen Elizabeth. Seeking investment from Sir Harry Gillingham, he has a fleeting encounter with an elfin, tomboyish golden-red-haired beauty ? Sir Harry?s youngest daughter Lizbeth ? and is bewitched by her limpid green eyes. Yet it is fair and golden-haired elder sister Phillida with whom he first falls in love... Granted his finances on the condition that Sir Harry?s weak, possibly even traitorous son sails with him in the hope that the mission will make him a man, Rodney embarks on a voyage of blood, honour and glory in which he gains great riches but loses his heart, not once, but twice. The risks are great but so are the rewards: wealth beyond compare and, as Rodney finally discovers, a greater, deeper, more passionate love than he ever imagined possible.

Eighteen-year-old Mistral is an innocent abroad in the sophisticated Côte D’Azur, where princes and millionaires mingle in the casinos and sumptuous hotels while others plot to relieve them of their riches. Accompanied only by her embittered and domineering Aunt Emilie and kindly servant Jeanne, Mistral appears dressed all in grey like a ghost in the salons and ballrooms of Monte Carlo and sets Society’s tongues wagging. It’s not long before her waif-like beauty has men falling at the feet of Madamoiselle Fântóme – gentlemen such as Sir Robert Stanford. But on her sister’s bewildering but strict instructions, she must not converse with any but the Russian Prince Nikolai, who’s also keen to woo her, as is an opulent Indian Rajah… Something about Mistral touches Sir Robert’s heart – and he cannot understand why Mistral appears afraid to be with him. Yet both of them crave love. Only if Mistral’s innocent eyes are finally opened to the truth – that Aunt Emilie’s motives are borne not of concern for her niece but of pure evil and greed – will she find her heart’s desire…

After the tragic death of her mother and father when their horses took fright and sent their carriage hurtling into a river, orphaned Pandora was taken in by her uncle, the Bishop of Lindchester. She has never been happy with him, but now she is horrified to overhear that he plans to marry her off to his Chaplin, the Honourable Prosper Witheridge. There is no denying the will of her Guardian – but just maybe she can fill her husband-to-be with revulsion at the very thought of marrying her! With this is mind she invites herself to stay with her cousin, the shockingly decadent Earl of Chartwood, who is notorious for ‘entertaining’ ‘droxies and play-actresses – women with whom no decent man would be associated...’ ‘Perfect!’ she thinks. But arriving at the awesome Chart Hall she is appalled by the outrageous goings on. If only her Guardian would relent and release her to embrace the love she finds burgeoning in her heart...

Craig Vandervelt, handsome son of the richest man in America is begged by his cousin, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the British Foreign Secretary, to undertake a secret mission in the most flamboyant principality in Europe - Monte Carlo. Intrigued by the fact that one of Britain’s top agents in India, the reclusive but respected Randall Sare, has disappeared without a trace, Craig agrees once more to use his playboy status as a mask to find out what is really happening. Craig is also told to beware of a beautiful Russian Countess suspected of being a spy. Young, glamorous and continually in the company of Lord Neasdon, a newcomer to the Foreign Office, she is suspected of using her charms to lure Neasdon into inadvertently give her information regarding the British interests in Tibet. Moving amongst Europe’s elite and the beauties of the Beau Monde in the gambling houses of Monte Carlo, Craig is soon drawn into danger and treachery, which threatens the delicate political situation between Britain and Russia. But as he uncovers each secret, moving ever nearer to the centre of the plot, he discovers something he never expected to find – true love.

Dejected and jobless like so many other Servicemen after the end of the Great War of 1914-18, Tybalt Hampton escapes a ball in Berkeley Square and meets a delightful young girl who has also sought refuge in the little Temple in the nearby gardens because no one has asked her to dance. It is too dark to make out her face, but in an enchanted moment they kiss in the moonlight and a nightingale sings in the trees above as if just for them. Two years later the beautiful Aleta Wayte, the recipient of that anonymous kiss, and her brother, Sir Harry Wayte, are forced to let their beloved ancestral mansion to a millionaire American called Cornelius Wardolf, disguising themselves as servants in their own home and at their tenant’s beck and call. Of noble birth but penniless, Aleta still dreams of that handsome stranger. So, when Fate in the form of a road accident brings him injured to her door, her hopes are raised and then instantly dashed. In her guise as a lowly servant how can she reveal herself as Tybalt Hampton is now the fifth Duke of Stadhampton and anyway, because of his impoverished estates, he has been earmarked by Cornelius Wardolf to marry his attractive daughter, Lucy-May? Is it possible that Fate could be so cruel as to bring love so close only to snatch it away?

Just seventeen, Lady Caroline Faye is already the toast of the Season and accustomed to the ways of genteel Society. So when notorious cad Sir Montagu Reversby offers to drive her in his phaeton from London to Sevenoaks, she innocently accepts – little knowing that he is planning to fake a broken axle so that she will be forced to spend the night alone with him at a remote country inn. But Lady Caroline of made of sterner stuff than the predatory Sir Montagu imagined. Escaping his lecherous clutches, she finds refuge in the imperious Brecon Castle only to discover that her new-found haven and its master, Lord Brecon, harbour dark and terrible secrets. A murderous plot is afoot and Caroline’s innocent mistake will come back to haunt her as heartbreak and humiliation in the dark, foreboding castle turn to hope and then ardent, all-consuming passion.

In 1750 Scotland, just four years after Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Rising of the Clans, it’s hard to know who’s loyal to the English and who is faithful to the Stuarts. And it’s beautiful seventeen-year-old Iona’s perilous mission to ascertain whether the Duke of Arkrae, head of Scotland’s most powerful clan, is a traitor – or is he in cahoots with the English. The plan is for Iona to gain the trust of the Duke and his clan by claiming to be the sister he thought to have died as a child. As all around her doubt her claim and call her a ‘pretender’, Iona struggles to hold her nerve. Her native wit and steel nerves do not fail her – but almost instantly, on meeting the imperious Duke, it’s her heart that lets her down. She’s fallen deeply, hopelessly in love! Traitor or not, surely the Duke could never love the Little Pretender who was sent only to ensnare him?

The death of her beloved father, has left artistic and idealistic Tempera and her stunning, scatterbrained stepmother Lady Rothley bereft not only of love but also of money. So when Lady Rothley?s womanly wiles attract an invitation from none other than the Duke of Chevingham to join him in the South of France, it?s a Godsend. At last ? the prospect of a handsome, aristocratic suitor for Tempera?s Belle-m?re who would keep them both in the style to which they would dearly love to be re-acquainted! To arrive without a lady?s maid is inconceivable ? to afford one impossible. So Tempera escorts her Belle-m?re in the guise of a servant and attempts to coach her in fine art, the Duke?s consuming passion. While her stepmother flirts with C?te D?Azur society Tempera contents herself with capturing the local flora?s beauty on canvas. And when the flair she inherited from her father captivates and mystifies the magnificent Duke, something stirs in Tempera that she has never felt before. Is it love? Or is it betrayal?

"?Do you really think you could work as I had to work to keep your mother from starvation? My dear child, you have lived in the lap of luxury all your life. You could no more earn a penny piece than fly over the moon!? Kasia?s father laughs scornfully. This is justification for his decision to marry her off to a man she does not love ? purely to save her from fortune hunters. So Kasia runs away to prove him wrong by working as Governess to the Duke of Dreghorne?s unruly nephew. As Kasia gains the trust of the child, she earns first the respect and then the growing affection of the Lord. But when she and the boy are kidnapped the stakes are irrevocably raised and the Duke?s reputation as a Dare-Devil will be tested one final time... Will Kasia?s father forgive her? Will Fate finally unite the hearts of Kasia and the Dare-Devil Duke?"

The Viscount Frome is in love, and intends to marry Claribel Stamford, belle of the Social Set, as quickly as possible. She is young, beautiful, charming and rich ? in fact he considers her the perfect match. The only drawback is that he needs the permission of his uncle, the Duke of Alverstrode before he can propose. The Duke, a more cautious man experienced in the wiles of aspirational young women, suggests a visit to Claribel?s home to meet her doting father Sir Jarvis, the well known race-horse owner. That way, the Duke can get to know Claribel and her father and set his mind at rest before welcoming her into his illustrious family. Impressed by Stamford Towers, but eager to escape the heady charm offensive of Claribel and her father, the Duke cannot shake the instinct that something is not right and remains on his guard. Even so, he is shocked to discover a sad young woman, Giona, alone watching the sunset over the magnificent gardens. He is astonished to discover that she is the niece of Sir Jarvis, but lives hidden away like a ?skeleton in the closet?. Horrified by her story of mistreatment, and intrigued by the mystery that surrounds her, the Duke offers Giona his protection and vows to uncover the family secret and restore her fortunes. But Sir Jarvis is just as committed to keeping his family secrets buried forever and will stop at nothing to keep his reputation intact. Two determined men, both used to getting their own way, but this time only one of them can win.

Tasked by the Prime Minister himself with bringing to justice the smuggling gangs that are rife around the Kent and Sussex coast, esteemed Napoleonic war hero Lord Cheriton is surprised to find a beautiful young girl called Wivina living in his dead and deeply hated father’s supposedly vacant mansion. She has no idea who he is – and when he hears his reputation as a cold-hearted Lord who would turn her out without a qualm, he tells her he is just a passing friend... Nevertheless Wivina seems terrified by his presence – but why? Realising the entire village is at the mercy of a cut-throat gang and Wivina’s prey to its murderous leader, Lord Cheriton endeavours to save the young beauty who’s stolen his heart while accomplishing his mission to stop the smugglers once and for all. For the first time, he is fighting not for his country but for the love of his life – and the life of his love.

Having survived the 1871 siege of Paris with her mother the Queen of Dabrozka, Princess Ilona is summoned back to the war-ravaged kingdom of her father, a tyrannical monarch whose unjust rule has divided the nation into two factions: her own Radák people and the Sáros. Worse still, Russia threatens to march on Dabrozka to impose their iron-clad style of order. Only Ilona can save her country from this fate – by making a terrible sacrifice. At the Prime Minister’s request, she must marry the Prince of Sáros, their union bringing together the people. This she will do; this she must do – but what her pride will not allow her is to love the aloof, indifferent Prince. Humiliated by the Prince’s evident disregard, and beaten by her own father on the eve of her wedding, it seems that love will never fill her heart – but as warclouds gather over Dabrozka, both the Prince and the Proud Princes are about to share a dramatic change of heart!

Although her father is the acclaimed Music Hall performer, Keegan Kenway, his young daughter, Isla, who is ethereally beautiful, is never allowed even to go near the Music Halls, which were not deemed suitable places for a lady to be seen at. Now that her mother is dead, her father is close to bankruptcy and so desperate for the proceeds of a benefit show that, when his co-star is taken ill, he is reluctantly forced to allow Isla to take her place for the evening and he sings his famous sons Champagne Charlie and It was only a dream. After a supremely successful performance when Isla and he are acclaimed by an enthusiastic audience, Keegan Kenway disappears to a late night party and Isla, declining the invitation, goes home alone, where the party’s host, Lord Polegate, arrives to inform her that her father has collapsed and is still unconscious. In her dismay and anxiety, Isla agrees to accompany the persistent Lord Polegate to his country house, where she gradually realises that his intentions are very much less than honourable and she flees his house in terror. Lost and alone, she flags down a passing carriage on the main road and, to her immense relief, she is saved by the handsome and kind Marquis of Longridge, whose superb house is nearby. And already Isla is falling in love – But is it real or is it only a dream?

Imperious, handsome and gallant in battle, the Duke of Kingswood has stolen the hearts of many society Belles – but he is ‘a block of ice which nobody can melt’, determined never to marry. To continue the family line, he is counting on his cousin and heir presumptive Richard to marry well and produce a son. To the Duke’s horror, Richard’s heart is bewitched by society siren and acclaimed beauty Lady Delyth Maulden – and disaster turns to tragedy when Richard finds his beloved in the arms of another, shoots him and turns his gun on himself. With Richard at death’s door, the Duke is determined that he shall find a more suitable young beauty to mend his broken heart; to marry him and thwart Lady Delyth’s scheming ways. Like manna from heaven, a beautiful young grey-eyed waif calls to him for help for her ailing father as he rides through his estate. Could this modest, unassuming beauty be the ideal bride he seeks for Richard?

Sir Hereward Grantley is angry, as usual. A bad tempered man with little to commend him, he is determined that his niece, the orphaned Diona, will understand the great favour he has done by offering her a home. Never missing an opportunity to mention Diona’s penniless status and dependency, her uncle is an arrogant bully. Diona, aghast at being thrust into a world of unkindness and bullish behaviour after the love in her parent’s home, mourns their loss and clings to the last thing that her popular, horse-loving papa gave her − beloved Dalmatian, Sirius. But no misdemeanor is safe from the mean attentions of Sir Grantley, especially when his sly son Simon is there to pour fuel onto the fire. So when Sirius accidently breaks an ornament, Simon sees his opportunity to avenge Diona for rejecting his fumbled attempts to grab a kiss, by telling his father that the dog is a menace and should be shot. Traumatised at the thought of losing her dog, Diona decides that she can no longer take the misery of Grantley Hall and flees. Scared, but certain that fate is guiding her to safety she seeks refuge with the handsome Marquis of Irchester. A confirmed bachelor and friend of the Prince of Wales, the Marquis has become used to a life of pleasure amongst the Beau Monde following the privations of the war in which he distinguished himself. A prized catch amongst Society debutantes and wealthy widows alike, he has so far managed to evade being trapped, whilst enjoying the companionship of some of the most beautiful women in London. But when touchingly innocent, educated and ethereal Diona begs him for a job, she provokes protective feelings in the Marquis that he didn’t realise he had. Accepting her wish to remain anonymous, he admires her determination to save her beloved dog, and swears to prevent anyone harming her or Sirius. But can Diona remain anonymous once her uncle starts looking for her? And just how far will the Marquis go to protect a girl he doesn’t know? As fate throws Diona an unexpected wild card the pressure is on and faith, loyalty and true love will all be tested to the ultimate limits.

When the lovely but demure eighteen-year-old Safina, daughter of the Earl of Sedgewick, is called home from her Finishing School in Florence by her stepmother, Isobel, her heart leaps at the happy thought of going back to her beloved home, Wick Park, and seeing her father again after living abroad for so long. But to Safina’s dismay, Isobel has summoned her to return under false pretences to force her to marry the penniless Duke of Dallwyn, a gentleman she does not even know, let alone love! The Duke too has been duped and Isobel is using blackmail to coerce him into this marriage with Safina. So the reluctant bride and bridegroom meet for the first time at the altar in the family Chapel at the Duke’s house to seal their terrible fate. The whole plot is designed to ensure that the wicked Isobel can get her grasping hands on the enormous fortune left to Safina by her adored late mother. But, as the Duke discovers before very long, there is much more to the beautiful Safina than meets the eye. Finally events conspire to prove to all concerned that the magic of love is infinitely more powerful than evil.

Eighteen-year-old Fenella is a mischievous as her freckled elfin beauty and feline green eyes suggest – but beneath that puckish charm she hides her ardent desire to do all in her power to make her beloved cousin Periquine, Lord Corbury, happy. When to her chagrin the dashing Lord returns from the Napoleonic War after fighting with Wellington, penniless and passionately in love with another – a woman of great wealth and even greater beauty, whom he cannot marry without wealth of his own, Fenella sacrifices her private passion to his wellbeing. Laying her life and her love on the line, she joins Periquine in a swashbuckling and death-defying life of crime as highwaymen, robbers and smugglers. Will their exploits reap the riches he needs? And will Fenella’s all-conquering love remain unrequited? Only when Perequine faces losing her forever will he find the answer in his heart...

The Marquis of Havingham visits his mother in Harrogate to tell her he intends to marry Lady Beryl Fern, the most acclaimed beauty in the Prince Regent’s circle. This should be the happiest day of his life – he is handsome, fabulously wealthy and now about to be a bridegroom. There is only one cloud on the horizon – he is not in love. Convinced that true love is not worth the heartache, and that marriage to the ‘Incomparable’ Lady Beryl, will work because of their shared interests and position amongst the Beau Monde, only his mother is worried that he may be making a terrible mistake. For Torilla, the daughter of a clergyman working in the deprived mining village of Barrowfield, the news of the wedding means travelling South to be her cousin, Lady Beryl’s, bridesmaid. Torilla is excited, not only about the wedding, but also the opportunity to return to the genteel parish she and her father left after the tragic death of her mother. For a young woman who has spent time amongst the grime and squalor of the mines, the lavish preparations and generosity of her cousin seem at times almost overwhelming. But as the wedding draws ever nearer Torilla cannot help wondering how attached the betrothed couple really are to each other. Their relationship is certainly nothing like the perfect soul mates that the cousins used to dream of. Afraid to question her cousin, Torilla unknowingly shares the same concerns as the Marquis’ mother. Can a marriage really work that is based only on convenience? And as Torilla gets to know the Marquis better she becomes even more convinced that this is not a match made in heaven. But will anyone be brave enough to say something? With her feelings in turmoil and filled with concern for the future happiness of all, Torilla certainly hopes so.

The beautiful Lady Celita Dale, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Langdale, is dismayed to hear that her best friend Judy’s father, Lord Waterforde, intends to marry his daughter off against her will to the Duc de Sahran who lives in the exotic South of France and whom she has never even met. Worse still, Judy is secretly in love with a charming young man called Clive Cunningham. Despatched to Provence to meet the Duc at his Fairy tale château the two girls are in despair until the resourceful Celita colludes with the dashing Duc in a subtle deception. To appease Lord Waterforde instead of proposing to Judy, the Duc declares his undying love for Celita, thus freeing Judy to marry her beloved Clive. The ruse appears to work until the Duc’s jealous former lover lures Celita into mortal danger. Just as she realises that she has lost her heart to the handsome Frenchman, she is also about to lose her life –

Anastasia is about to be married, which should be the most exciting day of any young girl?s life. Pretty, impulsive and wise beyond her years it seems that the young Princess will make an ideal bride for one lucky man. There is only one flaw in the wedding plans ? she is not in love with her bridegroom. Commanded to marry by Queen Victoria, Anastasia is horror struck at the thought of an arranged marriage. Having dreamt of true love since childhood, she despairs that a marriage based on political allegiance can ever be a happy one. Especially when her bridegroom, the handsome King of Maurona, is reputed to have a preference for anything French, including the seductive wife of Maurona's French ambassador. Determined to do her duty, Anastasia prepares to meet her future husband just days before their wedding. The roar of the assembled crowd tells her that she has won the love and approval of the people, but will she ever have the love of their King? As passions and political intrigue simmer amidst the idyllic palaces and sun-kissed olive groves of Maurona, Anastasia decides that this is a challenge she must rise to. As well as ensuring British protection for the tiny Principality from the greedy hands of neighbouring France, she determines to make her marriage a success. But can an innocent English rose compete with the dark smoldering beauty of the sensual Comtesse le Granmont? Two women, one man and only one winner ? but as danger grows ever closer will the King realise who his real friends are, and which woman should be at his side, in time to save his country?

Have you ever been so desperate that you would do literally anything for money? This is the tragic situation Giselda finds herself in, with no money for an operation her younger brother desperately needs to save his life, and no one to turn to. Ground down by poverty she plucks up her courage to offer the only thing she has of value ? her purity. Choking back her pride and knowing that she is about to forfeit his respect, she approaches her wealthy employer, the handsome Earl of Lyndhurst, who is recovering from his injuries sustained in the Battle of Waterloo. Appalled that this frail and innocent young girl should be faced with such a terrible decision, he vows to find a way to help her without offending her dignity. He knows she would never accept his charity, and she refuses to confide in him the reasons for her family's poverty. Intrigued by the air of mystery about a girl of obvious quality reduced to the role of maidservant, the Earl decides to discover why a beautiful young woman of strong principles has been reduced to such extreme measures. Discovering her to have gentle hands and wonderful nursing skills he employs her as his private nurse and turns his sharp mind to uncovering her secrets ? and learns his own lessons in love in the process.

Destitute after the death of her beloved Papa, Carmela is miserable working as Nanny to the brattish children of the local vicar. So when her closest friend Felicity asks her to take her place in the home of her guardian, the dictatorial Earl of Galeston, she nervously agrees. The subterfuge is necessary to ensure Felicity can marry the love of her life – and possible firstly because none of Felicity’s feuding family have set eyes on her since she was a child... And secondly because both young women are blue-eyed, blonde and beautiful. The Earl’s ancestral home is awe-inspiring – but it is the Earl himself who makes the greatest impression on Carmela. Growing to appreciate the profound kindness behind his steely façade, she falls deeply, utterly in love... But can true love live when it’s based on a lie? The Earl finds the answer in his heart when Carmela’s life – and any hope of love – is at stake...

Even amid the genteel grandeur of Venice, the Marquis of Wynchcombe’s ennui is undiminished. His fiery mistress Francesca, a beautiful and flamboyant Venetian actress, bores him almost as much as the company of the Beau Monde and royal acolyte with whom he associates. So when an impoverished but delicately alluring young Englishwoman – Lucia – accosts him at a café and beseeches him to peruse the painting of her dying father, he is intrigued – more so when he realises that Lucia’s father is a genius... But then he dies. Lucia is distraught and destitute but the Marquis saves her from penury by buying her father’s every painting, promising to take her home to England. Enraged by her beau’s apparent infatuation with the young ingénue, Francesca stabs him with a stiletto... But it’s Lucia who has truly pierced his heart and stolen his soul – and just as the Marquis thinks she will be his forever, she delivers the heartbreaking words: ‘Although I love you with all my heart I cannot be your wife...’

Handsome, noble Lord Alistair McDonon’s gay life, as a denizen of London’s Beau Monde far, far away from his Scottish roots, comes to a sudden and abrupt end. When the tragic news arrives that his two brothers have drowned at sea, he is summoned to Scotland by his estranged father not only to take up his title of the Marquis of Kildonon and position of heir to the Chieftainship of the Clan but also to marry, Lady Morag McNain, in order to unite their Clans, who have been at war with each other for centuries. Horrified, Lord Alistair hastily proposes to his current lover, Olive Beverley – only to be refused and it seems that he is doomed to a loveless marriage in the windswept and distant Highlands. Suddenly, though, everything changes when he overhears a delicately beautiful young woman, called Arina, desperately begging the heartless Olive for enough money to pay for her beloved mother’s life-saving operation. Alistair steps in to help Arina, asking in return only that she accompany him to Kildonon Castle pretending to be his wife. So now no one can force him to marry Lady Morag – but little does Lord Alistair know that his demure ‘young pretender’ will soon be laying an irrevocable claim to his heart!

In the loveless household of General Sir Frederick and Lady Emily Osmund and their empty-headed twin daughters, begrudgingly adopted niece Azalea is little more than a wallflower. And all because her kind, heroic and beloved father died in a manner they wrongly consider scandalous – and because her mother was Russian! ‘You must pay the price of your father’s sins and what happened in India you will take to your grave with sealed lips’, her uncle says, as if to seal her fate. When the General is posted to Hong Kong, Azalea is thrilled but there, as always, she is cast aside and abused. Only the handsome, dashing but imperious Lord Sheldon shows any interest in her – until to her aunt and uncle’s disgust she’s befriended by a kind Chinese family. But her joy at learning of their culture and customs is short-lived. Kidnapped by pirates, she faces death and worse. Is there any hope now that she’ll find true love and a life of her own ?

Handsome, infinitely wealthy war hero, the Duke of Buckminster or ‘Buck’ to his many friends, is bored with civilian life after the excitement of the Great War. His fabulous yacht, The Siren, is packed with guests, including Dolly, a famous Society beauty who is determined to trap the Duke into marriage. He reluctantly agrees to sail to Constantinople so that he may purchase for Dolly a treasure trove of jewels and sables, exploiting the desperation of Russian refugees from the 1917 Revolution. The Duke is appalled by the poverty and suffering of the Russians and Turks alike – and when an old ally, Prince Ivan Kerenski whom he met before the war in St. Petersburg, demands that he uses The Siren to smuggle Russian Royalty out of the clutches of the Bolsheviks, who are hounding them, he quickly agrees. Almost instantly, he is captivated by the beautiful young waif Militsa, daughter of the Grand Duke Alexis. Pure, innocent and intelligent, she is everything the spoilt Dolly is not – but surely love between them is impossible. After all as an Englishman he is the enemy and Her Serene Highness Princess Militsa makes it very clear that she hates him –

Katie King is a girl with big dreams for the future! A dancer in the heart of London’s theatre land, Katie is awaiting her big break, when her name will finally be in lights above the Gaiety Theatre. Fun-loving, cute and adoring of her charming boyfriend, the enigmatic Harry Carrington, Katie is sure that her unusual crowning glory of wild auburn curls will help catapult her out of the chorus line and into the leading roles she deserves. But Katie’s dazzling smile masks a tragedy – she is desperately ill and her enforced absence from the stage means that she does not have the money for the private healthcare she so badly needs. A few streets away, illness has touched the life of another young woman with distinctive Titian hair, Larentia. She is nursing her sick father, the eminent historian Professor Braintree, and suffers similar horrors when he is diagnosed as incurable. Whilst brilliant and an expert in his field, the Professor’s books gain him respect, not money and they too cannot afford the surgery needed. At first it seems that the only two things that the girls have in common are their astoundingly beautiful hair and a desperate need for money to employ the services of the pioneering surgeon Mr. Curtis Sheldon. However, the sudden death of the 4th Duke of Tregaron, a cad of the first order, whose unwanted attentions and lewd behaviour caused a naive Katie such pain in her first year in London, results in Harry coming up with a daring plan to capitalise on their short lived relationship. If Larentia agrees to play her part, and the new Duke, Justin Garon, believes their story there is just a chance that they can raise enough money to save both Katie and the Professor. But can an innocent young woman, with no experience of the darker side of life, be able to trick everyone? And what will be the ultimate cost of the deception if she fails? For this final curtain call Katie must sit back stage as Larentia prepares to give the performance of a lifetime.

How can beautiful young Fedora Colwyn and her ailing father be on the verge of starvation when the walls of their run-down home are hung with a magnificent collection of paintings by the great Masters? Alexander Colwyn is renowned as the nation’s greatest restorer of pictures and his valuable works of art are in trust for future generations and so cannot be sold. Fedora is desperate, not knowing where to turn or how to restore her beloved father to health with virtually no money, but she has a loyal ally in Jim, who has looked after the family for many years. So, when the Earl of Heversham invites her father to restore the pictures in his famous collection at Heversham Castle, but knows that her father is too proud to accept payment and that he is too ill to do very much, she will undertake most of the restoration work herself. She takes him to Heversham Castle, intending to accept payment without telling him about it. There she meets the handsome Earl and falls helplessly in love, only to find that a conceited and treacherous Society beauty and a dark family secret stand in the way of their love. But, when she is embroiled in a sinister murder plot, her life as well as her love is at stake.

Warren Wood is handsome, loyal and devoted to Magnolia. However, the one thing he lacks is a title and Magnolia betrays him in a heartbeat for the opportunity to be engaged to the Marquis of Buckwood. For beautiful and beguiling as she is, behind her perfect exterior lies a scheming manipulative personality that is desperate for wealth and standing in Society. Distraught and vowing to eschew love for evermore, Warren seeks solace in the African jungle, determined to forget the woman whose lovely face has nearly driven him to madness. But now the wheel of fate has turned and suddenly a legacy is calling him home to take up responsibilities he never dreamt would be his, and the chance to be reunited with Magnolia who surprisingly begs his forgiveness. Determined not to answer her siren’s call, he leaves for England taking with him the sweet but mysterious Nadia, another young person desperate to leave behind the past. Together they concoct a charade that should free Warren from Magnolia’s clutches and offer Nadia a new life. As the time for Warren to meet Magnolia again grows closer, he begins to feel nervous. Will he be able to resist the seductive charms of the woman he once loved to distraction? For above all else Magnolia is determined to marry well and she is not going to let a little thing like Warren’s heart stand in her way.

Dispatched on a secret mission to Paris by the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Benjamin Disraeli, the dashing Earl of Hawkshead is held up on the road out of Calais by an accident between a post chaise and a diligence. Stopping to assist the victims, he is accosted by a beautiful young waif called Baptista, who pleads with him to take her to Paris to escape the clutches of her cruel father the ‘Preaching Peer’, who aims to have her locked up forever in a Home of Penitence as punishment for the ‘sins’ of her wayward mother. Reluctantly his Lordship agrees to escort Baptista to Paris in search of her mother and soon she is caught up in his perilous adventures on a thrilling journey whose final destination is love.