"Lady Violet and Sebastian MacHeath are trying to forge a cordial marriage out of unlikely beginnings. When they are invited to a summer house party, they accept, hoping to make the excursion into a wedding journey of sorts -- or at least a respite from meddling relatives. No sooner do they arrive, then their host's ward is accused of petty wrongdoing. As the charges escalate into familial acrimony and worse, Violet determines that a scheme is afoot...

"Paul is just here to help, or so he claims - sent by a charity for vulnerable people to do odd jobs for elderly widow Gwen. But for Gwen's daughter Connie, there's just something about Paul that rings alarm bells from day one. He's a little too kind, a little too involved. Worse still, Gwen seems to have fallen under his spell."--Amazon

It's been a year since her wretched cad of a husband died and Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, is finally her own woman. Flitting from party to party, freedom is sweet and life should be perfect. Until the new duke surfaces. Nothing like the haughty noblemen who populate the ton, Rhain, the newly minted Duke of Dedham, is a big brawny Welshman with an accent that makes Valencia's knees go weak as he boldly moves into her home with his six...