Abandoned by the man she thought loved her, Claire Denham is left with very few options as she faces the prospect of being disgraced for falling pregnant out of wedlock. In fact, she is left with one. Lord Jack Beresford, the younger son of the late Duke of Ashwood, and often considered "the spare" in comparison to his older brother, has long held a torch for the pretty Claire Denham. When fate throws them together, Jack extends a favour to Claire, and she takes it, turning the lives of their families upside down. As they navigate a marriage of convenience, jealousy, betrayal, old lovers, and the fear of being second best all pose dangerous threats to an already shaky relationship ...

As Lord Adam Beresford left Ashwood, Hertfordshire for the training and education of a gentleman, he promised to return and marry his childhood best friend, and the only girl he could see himself marrying, Grace Denham. Neither of them foresaw that it would be twelve years until they would meet again. A lot has changed in that time, and their lives are vastly different. Adam became a gentleman, and everything that the heir to a Dukedom ought to be. Grace remained in Ashwood and became a housemaid to support her family. But as their lives intertwine once more, their childhood promise bubbles to the surface, throwing their lives, the lives of their families, and the village of Ashwood into chaos.

Lady Imogen Wilde has lived her life in a body that does not work as it should. As she was born not breathing, Imogen has spent her life as the small and weak daughter of the Duke of Ascot. Nobody could ever understand, could they? Colonel Simon Spencer is a highly decorated, recently retired, soldier, who has made his fortune through various gallant and successful military campaigns. But the military has altered him, both mentally and physically, leaving him a changed man from the one his brother remembers, one who carries many burdens. But what if they met? Could it be, that after years of indifference, Imogen and Simon might finally find someone who understands? Or could there be other obstacles in their way, secrets that threaten to boil over?

To the unknowing eye, the exotic young woman making her way through the English countryside is just another poor girl, hungry and looking for work. But Elena Del Fuego is much more than that. She is the youngest daughter of the King of Spain and she is running from an arranged marriage he forced upon her. Elena learned of the betrothal when she was ten years old, and found out that it was to happen on her eighteenth birthday to a Portuguese Prince twenty years her senior. She had eight years to plan her perfect escape. Her escape takes her to Derbyshire where she finds work as a housemaid at a grand estate called Ascot. While Elena had always planned to keep her head down, she cannot help but notice the handsome heir to the dukedom, David Wilde. But life is not like a fairy tale. The handsome heir cannot marry the maid and turn her into a princess, for Elena is already that. She is a princess with two nations chasing her, two nations determined to keep Elena and David apart and to take Elena home.

To save her family from financial ruin, Annaliese Dawson agrees to marry a stranger. She knows that the arrangement would probably never lead to love, but as the two begin to trust each other, could it be that they have a chance at true love? ***** Matthew Cassidy is a widower baronet with three young children. Convinced that his children deserve a mother, a marriage is promptly arranged between Matthew and Annaliese, a pair that have never met, and are complete opposites. What will it take to bring these two together? They have but one chance to get it right. [[word count: 80,000 - 90,000]] Cover designed by Morgan Sangster