Miss Helena Wainwright is determined to see her nieces and nephew well settled with their new guardian, the Duke of Rotherham. After six months of transition, the children are beginning to bond with their uncle, but Helena and the Duke aren’t able to get much past the barest of civilities. Now that the duke is poised to offer for the shy Miss Fanshawe, Helena is horrified to discover an awful secret about the young lady and her scheming mother. What is she going to do--keep the secret or reveal all in her own bid for the duke’s heart? Ready to settle down and provide a stable environment for his wards, Vernon Wroxby, the Duke of Rotherham, has decided the amenable Miss Fanshawe will do, even if he dislikes her outspoken, uncouth mama. If he could just quit wondering what Miss Wainwright is doing (and with whom) he’d be able to appreciate the match a bit more. But as his wards begin to rebel against the idea of this marriage, and he starts to realize that his affections really reside with Miss Wainwright, will one determined marriage-mart mama ruin any chance he might have for true happiness?

The handsome Earl of Wenham has no intention of marrying any time soon in the near future. At thirty, as one of London's leading Corinthians, he sees no need to interrupt his enjoyable life, filled with the kind of sporting and gambling activities a man of his position enjoys. A wife, he feels, would hamper him. His sister Almeria, some fifteen years his senior, feels duty bound to point out to Hugo that he owes it to the title and the estates to marry and produce an heir. Failure to do so means the entire lot devolves upon his second cousin, the Honourable Felix Barstowe. She also reminds him that their father had promised an old friend, Lord Lavenham, that his son should marry Lord Lavenham's daughter, Miranda. Time has passed, and the young lady in question is now twenty two. Out of respect for his father's dying promise (which he had never taken seriously), the earl tells his sister he will pay the Lavenhams a visit, but he makes no undertaking to fulfil their father's wish. After all, he reasons, the young lady might well be a complete frump, given that at twenty two she is still unattached. Expecting nothing but a boring few days fulfilling his duty, the earl sets off the Lavenham House. He is stranded by snow a few miles away from his destination and takes refuge in a local inn. He meets up with a heavily veiled, mysterious young woman, who, by her confidences to him, he realises is the elusive Miranda. To his shocking surprise, the feisty Miranda declares she has never heard of the Earl of Wenham's glorious reputation and will not have anything to do with someone whom she declares, "is possibly so fat and gouty, that he needs to have a wife found for him." In fact, she would rather run away with a childhood friend than have anything to do with the "ridiculous" Earl of Wenham.

When Margaret Everard is asked to investigate the man she once loved for the murder of the Prime Minister, she knows he's innocent, until clues start to prove otherwise. ***** Years ago, Margaret Everard was engaged to be married to Cole Devitt, but a series of tragic events ruined it all. Now, ten years later, she's forced to infiltrate his life for reasons other than romance. Cole Devitt is the prime suspect to the murder of the Prime Minister and Margaret can hardly believe it. But as a member of a secret elite group of spies, she's given one difficult task: spy on him. Taking on the challege, Margaret has to fight old feelings buried in layers of pain of the past. But when she stumbles upon more clues, she realizes that the case she's working on is more complicated that it seems. As secrets of the past and their feelings start to unravel, Cole and Margaret have to learn how to trust again. However, one of them is bound to betray the other. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence, mental trauma, sexual assault, mental health illness

Banished for five years, Lady Belinda Carrington returns to Willowfair, claiming to know things one would find impossible to believe. With her tainted reputation, can Belinda make Town Guard McKenzie Haverston help her in her pursuit of the truth? *** After her banishment five years ago, Belinda Carrington returns with secrets and tales too impossible to believe. But something in her lies makes McKenzie Haverston desperate for the truth... When Belinda shows up in McKenzie's home asking for protection in return for important information on a case he's working on, he rejects her. But when he learns where she had been banished after her great scandal five years ago, he finds himself striking a deal with the woman-he protects her, she gives him answers. The question now is: how true is her tale? She was once considered the fairest of them all, but one scandal later, she has become the most reviled. And she is also being hunted. If Belinda wants to stay alive, she has to start trusting McKenzie Haverston, a task she finds to be surprisingly easy to do. However, as the truth of the past begins to resurface, and the secrets of her scandal is revealed, Belinda is confronted by her own demons, causing her to doubt her own reality. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence, mental trauma, sexual assault, mental health illness

Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong? *** It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed. Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out? Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her? Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires. *This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.

Eros thought he knew everything about love. Being a Cupid and all. But that was before he met Penelope... For nearly a decade, he's tried-and failed-to match her and her true love, Trevor. If he doesn't make the match by the ten-year deadline, he faces demotion to a position that would mean horns. And his face really deserves better than to be marred by such unsightliness. By now he's tried every trick in the book to get his unwilling targets to fall in love. Every meet-cute, every setup, every skill in his Cupid repertoire. Everything but dating Penelope himself...

The rich. The powerful. Those are the men Amy has always despised, because the only thing they've ever done is use her. So...what is she doing with HIM? Lord Patrick Day, descendant of a noble line, with enough arrogance for ten kings and the looks to go with it, is exactly the kind of man Amy hates the most. And yet, now he is the only hope she has. A sinister conspiracy. A young woman, hurt and broken. And a powerful man, who was never, ever meant to be with the likes of her. Together, can they take on the darkest depths of the London underworld?

NO LONGER AVAILABLE ON WATTPAD Jessica Howerty fell for her brother's best friend when she was a young girl, and never quite recovered. Now, all grown-up, she knows that a disreputable rake like Jacob Hurst is the last thing she should want. After two seasons in London, she's tired of looking for a husband she never wanted anyway. So when Jacob's father offers her to spend the summer at his estate, she thankfully accepts. Then Jacob unexpectedly visits and her plans for a quiet season are immediately ruined, what with her heart skipping a beat every time the handsome earl is near. Jacob Hurst, the Earl of Wortham, has worked very hard on his less-than-favourable reputation to ensure he never marries, all to annoy his father. Though sparks fly whenever they're in the same room, he has never allowed himself to think of Jessica as anything other than his best friend's little sister. That all changes when he finds out she's spending the summer at his father's estate. After years of avoiding his ancestral home, Jacob returns home, even if it means he has to spend more time in Jessica's presence than is good for his peace of mind.

Full version available on Amazon! https://a.co/d/8Mj3nhv Fidelia Atwell, a fiery red-headed American, will do anything to protect her sister during the war of 1812: even marry her enemy, the British spy Lord William Greyville. **** When British spy Lord William Greyville promises to protect the American sisters of his childhood friend in exchange for his life, fiery American Fidelia Atwell finds herself married to her enemy to protect his cover and her sister's life. The couple immediately butts heads, but Fidelia soon discovers her handsome husband to be a gentle and loving man who softens her feisty temper. When new dangers threaten Fidelia's life and William's cover, she finds herself playing the part of the spy to protect the man she loves and end the war that keeps them apart, but a traitor and an old enemy mean that failure will be something worse than death for William and the Atwell sisters. As spies, they could both lose their lives. As husband and wife, they could both lose their hearts. (Book One of the "In The Arms of My Love" Series) [[Winner of the Watty's 2020 Historical Fiction Award!]] [[Runner-up in the 2019 Covenant Communications StoryCatchers Contest]] [[Featured on the Editor's Picklist! (4-29-21)]] Highest Rankings: #17 for Historical Fiction! Content warning: this book contains PG-13 rated violence with some descriptions of blood, gunshots, and sword fights.

{WATTYS 2020 WINNER} {FEATURED BOOK} Paris, 1663. 500 girls selected by King Louis XIV embark on a journey across the seas from their homeland. Each is given a dowry, and the expectation that they are to marry a French settler, in order to increase the population of New France. They are the historic Daughters of the King, or "les filles du roi." Eighteen-year-old Celeste Dubois is a free-spirited, educated and headstrong girl. She comes from a wealthy Parisian family that has squandered their money and is subsequently forced to journey to New France. However, Celeste doesn't plan on marrying a complete stranger. She hopes to use the dowry and the free voyage as a way to escape the poverty and social ranks of Paris. Matters are complicated when against her will, she falls in love. Romantic, kind and stunningly beautiful Lorraine Leblanc is a girl from a large family with children to spare. Unlike Celeste, she happily dreams of the day she will meet her future husband in New France. When she marries a mysterious widower with two young children of his own and still reeling after his broken heart, she realizes that married life isn't all she had hoped it would be, and begins to question her new husband's complicated past. - Wattpad Picks Blast to the Future Past list 2018 - The 50 Best Wattpad Stories of 2018/19 by Design Wizard - 2018 Youngblood Awards Winner (Romance) - 2018 True North Awards 2nd place for Historical Fiction and 2nd place Truly Canadian special category award - Featured by Wattpad Historical Fiction profile under Kings, Courtships and Empires, Young Adult Fiction profile under Love, Actually and Romance profile under Time will Tell *Please be aware that since this book covers the colonial period, it does contain sensitive themes of racism and violence that readers will find disturbing. There are resources at the back of the book that prompt further learning in the Historical Notes section.*