As far as rash decisions go, it was formidable. But Lady Jocelyn Rathbourne's will remains strong. If the only way to save her family's estate and reputation is by aiming a small pistol at the Duke of Calydon, then so be it. For Lady Jocelyn demands satisfaction - and she will have it at any cost. Even if it means demanding the hand of the intense and foreboding Duke himself....

A dutiful army officer who shuns intimacy. A selfless beauty ready to start living for herself. A chance meeting in the street that leads to love. When Major Spencer Haddock’s father dies, he returns to England as the Earl of Middlefield. He seeks a typical ton marriage, where his wife will provide him with an heir and possibly other children and then they go their separate ways. He intends to find his countess quickly and not waste time at boring social affairs.

When Clara Mayfield helps her sister elope, she's prepared for the scandal to seal her fate as a spinster. What she doesn't expect is to find herself engaged to the vile Baron Rutherford as a means of salvaging her family's reputation. Determined not to be chained to a man she loathes, Clara slips out of Essex and sheds her identity: She becomes Helen, maid at the Earl of Ashworth's country estate.

Lady Diana Malbury is known for her charm and intelligence, why else would she rather solve another one of the late Earl of Chestwick's word puzzles than entertain potential suitors for the Season? The old earl presents her with the highest-stake challenge yet . . . If she remains unwed for the Season, she can return to his estate next summer and solve the latest puzzle by way of his extensive library, her favorite place in England . . . But Randal Wilson, the new Earl of Chestwick, has returned from the war a decorated hero but also wounded and angry.

Miss Georgianna Eleanor Heyford may be naught but a gentleman's daughter, but even she's heard the rumors about the Earl of Stannis's exceptional charm and good looks. Surely she can cater his luxurious yacht party without getting swept away. But a terrible misunderstanding leaves Georgianna fired, furious, and with little recompense. Which is precisely when her opportunity for vengeance washes ashore.