Showing results by narrator "Jessica Bright" in All Categories

Lady Augusta Penworthy is in dire straights. Her father has spent every last coin, and she and her sisters cannot even afford coal. One chance encounter and a torn gown changes everything. While one might think a sudden marriage to a wealthy lord a relief if that marriage is to the Duke of Blacktower, one would be vastly mistaken. For no young lady wishes to be that infamous rake's bride.

Going undercover as a governess is a first for Cecilia Gilchrist. But once she's installed in Darlington Castle, discovering whether the mysterious marquess murdered his wife proves more daunting than she imagined. Dashing widower Gideon Rhys, marquess of Darlington, is clearly harboring secrets - but is it possible a cold-blooded killer lurks behind his devastating gaze? Trailing his every move only brings her closer to him. But if her heart misleads her, she could pay with her life....

When Fiona Hay offers Angus Gordon her virtue in exchange for a dowry for her sisters, she so intrigues the rogue that he demands a higher payment: She will be his mistress. Thus begins a battle of wills and sensual delights. Destiny soon draws the ardent lovers into the turbulent court of King James. But soon the king's political schemes force Fiona away from the man she loves...and into the arms of a wild and passionate highlander, The MacDonald of Nairn. Will this coldhearted and callous betrayal forever destroy Fiona's chance at happiness?

Abducted from a life of privilege, she was sold into slavery in a distant land. For Lady Janet Leslie there would be no escaping the harem of the wealthy and powerful Sultan Selim. But from the moment the handsome ruler spied his breathtaking "Cyra," he was captivated—by the fiery desire that coursed through his veins. She belonged to him, body and soul-yet it was he who was enslaved.

When a governess of great talents is required, there is only one place the nobility of England go: the Governess Bureau. It was why Miss Meredith Hubert had worked so hard to gain her place there. Finishing with the Earl of Marnmouth's children, she is about to be given her next assignment—a Duke called Alfred Carmichael with a reputation to maintain and a half-brother who needs controlling. But Meredith has a secret to hide, and she's not the only one. Maids sent away in secret, items missing from the house—there is more than one mystery at Rochdale Abbey.

When a beautiful stranger ducks into his bookshop during a rainstorm, Cale Cameron, well-known rake, is instantly attracted to her. Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill, is restless and hungers for something she cannot name. Society would never accept a countess and a mere bookseller, so they agree to a one week affair to indulge their desire. As their passion ignites and their connection grows, Elizabeth threatens the one thing Cale has protected above all else—his heart.

Other young ladies might occupy their spare time with drawing or needlework, but Sophia Monmouth spends hers scaling rooftops and shadowing suspicious characters. Her objective: to gain information that will free a friend wrongly accused of murder. She hasn't bargained on being spotted and followed back to the Clifford School by a mysterious earl who holds almost as many secrets as she does. Tristan Stratford, Lord Gray, earned the nickname the Ghost of Bow Street because no man has ever escaped him.

Archer Tierney has devoted his life to becoming one of the most powerful men in London. He's cutthroat and merciless to anyone who crosses him and ruthless in his determination to always maintain the upper hand over friends and foes alike. There's no situation he can't control, no battle he can't win. Until one fierce woman enters his carefully guarded world, leaving danger and desire in her wake and bringing Archer to his knees.

Lady Greer Fairchild's only hope of avoiding marriage to the first bidder lies in journeying into the untamed Welsh countryside in search of an inheritance she's not sure even exists—one reportedly controlled by Rhodrick Glendower, Earl of Radnor, also known as the Prince of Powys. Rumor has it that the prince is rough, ruthless—even a murderer. But Greer never imagined that the brute would refuse to let her leave his remote castle until she has proven her identity.

To protect her family, she has done the darkest of deeds, and now she is determined to find the protection of a good marriage. A marriage that will let her pursue her dreams. A powerful friend has arranged for her to marry the Earl of Derby. But when she arrives, the earl does nothing as expected. He demands a trial. Drawn to the Earl, who seems to carry a shadow in his heart, she agrees. Margaret cannot deny her desire for him, but if he learns the truth, will he cast her out? When her heart begins to long for him, she is determined to keep him... and her secrets.

Lady Eliza Whitmoreland just wants to be left alone. A season and a husband are the last things she needs or wants. But when the ton's biggest rake tries to charm her, instead of rolling her eyes, she sees her chance. She challenges the blowhard to a game of chess. The prize? If she wins, he has to pretend to be her fiance for the rest of the season to get her mother off her back.

She is Catriona, Countess of Glenkirk, the dazzling green-eyed beauty whose silken sensuality fires the passion of men's very souls—making her a pawn in a dangerous game of royal intrigue. Wife to a count, unwilling mistress to the king, she has the undying love of the most courageous lord in all of Scotland . . .

The Duke of Clyde has been a friend to many, but none can climb the walls around his heart. None can thaw the ice that he has wrapped his soul in. Until a bluestocking invades his castle and his life and threatens to upend everything he has ever known.

The young ladies of the Fairchild family have just learned that their stepfather has absconded with their late mother's fortune. Ava, the eldest, decides to take matters into her own hands and hunts down the notoriously wealthy rakehell Jared Broderick, the Marquis of Middleton and heir to a dukedom. Much to her shock and delight, the marquis sweeps her into a whirlwind romance and proposes marriage. But after their passionate wedding night, Ava discovers Jared has ulterior motives of his own.

Lily Sutton has been running wild for years beneath her siblings’ noses. Born and raised in the rookeries, she is not afraid of anything or anyone. And she is most certainly not cowed by arrogant scoundrels like the owner of London’s most prestigious shop, Bellingham and Co. She is determined to right the wrongs of her world, even if it means resorting to devious methods, such as absconding with some overpriced fripperies and baubles.

In the months since their father, Rory, died, the MacLeod sisters have had to contend with bands of smugglers convinced he left a treasure buried within the walls of their home at Castle Cairncross. Only the most mystifying occurrences have foiled the thieves—stirring whispers that the sisters are sorceresses. Yet, they have no treasure, nor are they witches. However, each inexplicably possesses a unique ability. The eldest, Catriona, is a brilliant healer and alchemist—a skill she is about to put to unforeseen use.

Lady Philippa Shaw had it all - a husband who was madly in love with her, a sweet baby daughter, and a house in the most exclusive square in London - until a shocking discovery revealed that her happy life was a lie. After her husband's death, his past crimes return to haunt her, bringing danger, devastation, and the one man she’s spent the past few years despising.

Lady Janet Fraser didn't earn her reputation as Scotland's most notorious sinner by following the rules. A former mistress of King James IV, she's content to live her life from pleasure to pleasure. Even if those pleasures - and people - are forbidden.

Black women have never been more visible or more publicly celebrated. But for every milestone, every magazine cover, every new face elected to public office, the reality of everyday life for black women remains a complex, conflicted, contradiction-laden experience. An American journalist who has been living in London for a decade, Kenya Hunt has made a career of distilling moments, movements, and cultural moods into words. Her work takes the difficult and the indefinable and makes it accessible; it is razor sharp cultural observation threaded through evocative and relatable stories.

Lady Phillipa's heart is on the verge of being broken. The man she has exchanged letters with for months now refuses to answer her missives. That man, after the death of his older brother, is now the Duke of Grey, one of the most powerful lords in the land. When his sister invites Phillipa to the country, she jumps at the chance to discover why the duke forsook their love. When she arrives, she finds a broken, brooding man who insists keeping her away is for her own protection. But in his beautiful face, marred by scars, she sees the soul of the man she loves.