Showing results by author "Cathy Maxwell" in All Categories

Society dictates that a governess should be modest, quiet, and keep to herself. She should never contradict her employer. And, above all, she must not attract the attention of any male in the household. But Michael Severson doesn't see Isabel Halloran as a governess - he sees her as a woman, one whose lush curves cannot be hidden behind a dowdy gown...and whose efforts at hiding her sparkling intelligence are betrayed by her wit.

Once there were three Irish sisters—Gwendolyn, Dara, and Elise—who had to fend for themselves when their gambler of a father disappeared, leaving them with an unscrupulous cousin. Dara hatches a daring plan: they gamble what little they own to finance a London season. Her goal: to use their looks and their wits to find a duke to marry for each sister! It seems her crazy plot might work when the sisters are declared the “Incomparables” of the Season. Dukes and lords line up at their door, but bold women and scandal always go hand in hand.

Twice he has been close to the altar and still no duchess. Will the third time be the charm? A duke can't marry just anyone. His wife must be of good family, be fertile, and be young. Struggling playwright Sarah Pettijohn is absolutely the last woman Gavin Whitridge, Duke of Baynton, would ever fall in love with. However, there is something about her that stirs his blood, which makes her perfect for a bargain he has in mind: In exchange for backing her play, he wants Sarah to teach him about love.

Every debutante aspires to snag a duke. Elin Morris just happens to have had one reserved since birth. But postponements of her marriage to London's most powerful peer give Elin time to wonder how she will marry Gavin Baynton when she cannot forget his brother, Benedict.

They call him Lord Lyon, proud, determined - and cursed. He is in need of a bride, but if he falls in love, he dies. His fervent hope is that by marrying - and having a son - without love, perhaps he can break the curse's chains forever. Enter beautiful Thea Martin - a duke's headstrong, errant daughter and society's most brilliant matchmaker. Years ago, she and Lyon were inseparable, until he disappeared from her life without a word. Now she is charged with finding Lyon's bride - a woman he cannot love for a man Thea could love too well.

Sabrina Davidson, dutiful daughter, avowed spinster, thought she'd secured a place for herself in Aberfeldy society - until her hard-earned acceptance of her fate is challenged by the arrival of Cormac Enright, earl of Ballin, trained physician, soldier of fortune, and convicted felon. Mac is determined to clear his name, but first he has to find the man whose testimony sentenced him to a hangman's noose.

Is it wrong for a woman to want more? Not if she is a Spinster Heiress. They do not settle. Any young miss would be very lucky to find herself promised to a man like the duke of Camberly. However, Miss Willa Reverly has watched her friends marry for love. Camberly may be the prize of the season, but she will not be “sold” to any man. She wants his devotion or she wants nothing at all.

The penniless orphan of a disreputable earl, Lady Charlene Blanchard thrives on the adventure of picking the pockets of unsavory gentlemen to survive. But due to her extraordinary beauty and prized bloodlines, she is hand chosen as a potential bride for the duke of Baynton, who is on the hunt for a suitable wife to provide heirs. All Char has to do is act the part she was born to play and charm a duke she's never laid eyes on into proposing.

Desperation and an empty stomach forced Fiona Lachlan to agree to a plan that ended up luring the wickedly notorious duke of Holburn into trouble. Everything went terribly wrong, and now she has found herself posing as his ward! And while she swore nothing could make her desire a scoundrel, even if he was a duke, she is now drawing ever closer to the one man she cannot have....

Brandon Balfour made the mistake of trusting his heart to the exquisite, strong-willed actress, Kate Addison, with whom he shared one intimate night before fate intervened. Now a decade later, Brandon is a leading member of the Logical Men’s Society - for no woman since Kate has managed to captivate him. To Kate, the memory of that night still burns strongly, because it was followed by a stunning betrayal. A chance encounter may have brought Brandon back into her life, but that doesn’t mean Kate will ever forgive him.

She'd once been the toast of London, but now scandal has brought her down. Still, pretty, petted Lady Tara Davidson can't believe her new fate. She had wanted to marry for love…but her profligate father has promised her hand to none other than Breccan Campbell, the "Beast of Aberfeldy" and laird of the valley's most despised clan! Well, Tara may have to marry him, but Breccan can't make her love him…can he?

In New York Times best-selling author Cathy Maxwell's new novella, beautiful Jennifer Tarleton has no lack of noble suitors, but the only man who captures her attention is the one her father will never let her marry: Fyclan Morris. He's a brash adventurer, witty, courageous...and Irish! Even worse, her father blames her for their reversal of fortune. And it's a fortune - or, rather, his grandmother the fortune-teller - who foretold that Fyclan would meet "the one", a love prophesied in the stars.

The Earl Claims His Wife is the latest romance from New York Times best-selling author Cathy Maxwell in her new Scandal and Seductions series, where pride clashes with passion and temptation leads to love. Preoccupied with wars and women, the earl ignored his wife. But when he finally wants her by his side, the fiery Lady Gillian won't go without a fight....

Miss Cassandra Holwell is too tall, too bookish, and too smart - but she does have money and a father who wants a grand title for her. Cassandra hasn’t felt a desire to marry until she meets the sinfully handsome Duke of Camberly, who captures her imagination...until Soren York, Earl of Dewsberry and her family’s sworn enemy, steps in the way.

When Anne Burnett is forced into a proxy marriage with Aidan Black, a dashing Scottish laird with a reputation for unpredictability, traveling to the wilds of 19th-century Scotland to meet him is only a small concern. Her biggest worry is how to inform her new husband that he is married. Falling in love with his castle and the fierce loyalty Aidan inspires in his people, Anne finds her greatest challenge is yet to come.

Brenn Owen, the new but impoverished Earl of Merton, is looking for a bride: one rich enough to finance his estate. When he meets Tess Hamlin, he sees a woman who is not only wealthy, but a dazzling beauty as well. To his surprise, Tess quickly accepts his proposal. But behind her eagerness lurks a secret she will do anything to hide from him. As the Earl and his bride begin their life together, their path is a passionate one, but far from smooth: haste must give way to patience and understanding.

What happens when a bride says no? He is the bastard son of a duke, arrogant, handsome, a little bit dangerous, and, of course, one of the most sought-after bachelors in London. He is also about to be publically jilted by some chit of a girl! Blake Stephens' pride isn't about to let him be humiliated, so he charges after his bride to the wilds of Scotland, determined to bring her to the altar. What happens when the heart says yes? He is promised to one woman, but discovers his soul stirred by…the chit's sister!

Mary Gates longs to restore the family stables to their former glory...so she bids on the famous Spender Stud. The only way she can pay for the beast is to marry, but her only prospect is her neighbor and chief rival, Tye Barlow. She has been tempted by his charms in the past - but she's determined not to give in to him now. So Mary boldly goes to where the husbands are - London. She takes the town by storm, but the marital prospects are uninspiring when compared to Tye. He's followed her, determined to thwart her plans.

When a loathsome rake steals one of her most cherished family heirlooms - and nearly her virtue as well! - Francesca Dunroy devises the perfect plan to put him in his place. At a ball being held in her honor - she didn't "take" in her first season, now her family is determined to get her a match in her second - she'll offer him a clandestine kiss sure to convince him to return what is rightfully hers. But in the dark hallways surrounding the ballroom, Francesca makes a terrifying mistake. She seduces the wrong man!

This eliminates Grace MacEachin on all three counts. A hellion of the first order, the alluring, infuriating woman would be nothing more than a passing temptation to an upstanding gentleman like Richard - if it weren't for the fact that she's trying to blackmail his father! Or, as Grace sees it, trying to get justice - and maybe just the slightest hint of revenge on the family that tore her life asunder when she was just a girl. And as for Lynsted, well, the stuffy, humorless man wouldn't suffer for time spent in company more exciting than that of his company ledgers.