Infamous Lords

A ZEBRA SHOUT FRESH NEW ROMANCE They are the infamous lords, unrepentant rogues whose bad behavior makes for good gossip among the ton. But these sexy scoundrels have stories no one knows. And it takes a special touch to reveal the true hearts behind their devilish disguises... Known as a brazen philanderer, Hayden Milton, Earl of Westfield, is almost done in by a vengeful mistress who aims a gun at a rather essential part of his anatomy-but ends up wounding his thigh instead. Recuperating in his London townhouse, Hayden is confronted by his new medical attendant. Sophia Camden intrigues him, for behind her starched uniform is an enticing beauty better suited for bedding than dispensing salves and changing bandages. Unshaken by his arrogance, not to mention impropriety, Sophia offers Hayden a dare: allow her ten days to prove her competency. If she resigns in exasperation like her two predecessors, she will be beholden to this wicked seducer. As a battle of wills begins, Sophia finds herself distracted by the earl's muscular physique... and discovers that the man within longs only for a second chance to love.

They are the infamous lords, notorious noblemen who indulge their irreverence in public, but keep their personal struggles private. For a portrait artist, capturing the true soul of a high-born hellion is a daring proposition . . . Clearly, Emma Trafford's new neighbor is a lady killer-but is the scoundrel with the scar capable of murder? Emma can barely contain her precocious younger sister, Lily-the child swears she spied their neighbor engaged in foul play in his Bloomsbury love nest. But when Lily goes too far searching for "evidence," Emma must save the imp by distracting Simon-with an all-consuming kiss rife with danger and desire . . . Simon Marlton, Viscount Adler doesn't know which is more infuriating: that an anonymous intruder set his soul on fire and left a deep longing in her wake . . . or that during their encounter his signet ring, a token of his painful past, went missing. With the memory of a faint scent of paint spirits and the knowledge that his neighbor Emma is a portraitist, Simon sets out to capture his thief. He draws Emma into a flirtatious game, commissioning the talented lass to paint him-and enticing them both to reveal their whispered suspicions and deepest secrets . . .

They are the infamous lords, whose scandalous ways keep tongues wagging. But when darker whispers take hold, a spirited writer's encounter with a dangerously desirable nobleman may uncover the whole story . . . For James Trent, Lord Huntington, there's no escaping the question that labeled him The Murdering Marquess: was his wife's death a tragic accident or a cold-blooded crime? He's avoided London's gossipmongers since that terrible night, as guardian to his younger siblings on his Essex estate. But trouble finds him when a veiled temptress with secrets of her own falls-quite literally-into his arms. Caroline Lawrence doesn't need a man to rescue her-the aspiring journalist anonymously advocates for women's rights in a radical London newspaper column. But when a suffragist's soapbox speech turns to pandemonium, Caroline is knocked on the head and reawakens in Trent Hall-with the notorious lord of the manor irresistibly close. If there is any truth to his tarnished past, she should denounce him with her powerful pen. Yet love has a way of revealing a man's true character . . .

Some lords prefer scandalous affairs over marriage. But can the magic of Christmas and a second chance at romance open an earl's heart to love? Julien Caruthers, the Earl of Dartmore, isn't in the Christmas spirit. The former 'Naughty Earl' would prefer to focus on maintaining his family's holdings rather than be stuck at his mother's annual Christmas party, with her endless parade of debutantes. When he escapes for a ride, Julien's horse gets spooked and throws him off his saddle, leaving him wandering in the snow. Until he happens upon a cozy cottage . . . Evangeline Breckenridge never thought 'Lord Scrooge' would show up at her door. She hasn't seen her childhood sweetheart in years, and Julien's since turned into a tyrant, taking away Christmas traditions from the townspeople. Eve is now a widow and a mother, no longer the foolish girl who believed a nobleman could love a physician's daughter. But the weather outside is frightful, and Eve isn't one to withhold the warmth of her home, even from a cold heart. And as they reconnect, Eve and Julien may even discover there's still something merry and bright burning between them, a fire destined to be reignited-just in time for Christmas . . .

Last season, Lady Nina Trent fell for a scoundrel. This year, she intends to choose more wisely... When a duke more interested in fox hunting and sports than womanizing comes to town, Nina thinks him the perfect catch. Sadly, he doesn't seem to notice her. But Lord Elliot Havenford, Baron Ralston, a notorious flirt, has a proposition: he'll not only pretend to vie for her hand, hoping to draw forth the duke's competitive nature, he'll also give Nina lessons in seduction. An aristocrat in possession of two dilapidated properties must be in want of a fortune. Elliot's proposition is a subterfuge, for he hopes to capture Nina's hand-and her dowry-by slyly seducing her himself. Though he feels guilty over his deception, their interludes, filled with dancing, flirtation, and increasingly heated kisses, are impossible to regret... until he realizes he has unwittingly placed Nina in grave danger. What's a scoundrel in love to do, except finally risk his heart for real?

With the proper calculations, even a reckless rake and a secretly infamous woman can find a love they can count on . . . No one would ever guess that Olivia Michaels, companion to an elderly dowager, is really the thief the London newspapers have nicknamed the Phantom. Working in a nobleman's home is the perfect guise to gather information, allowing her to exact her own justice on several wicked noblemen. But when the dowager's grandson, notorious ne'er-do-well Lord Anthony Trent, requires her assistance with some tasks of his own, Olivia discovers that the charming rogue may be capable of stealing something himself-her heart . . . Anthony has his own secret: Numbers get jumbled in his head. He's cultivated his reckless reputation as a way to avoid dealing with his family's businesses. Yet as obligations fall on him, he's determined to prove his worth, and Olivia's genius for numbers is a boon he hadn't expected. But as the pair pore over ledgers together each evening, their connection blooms into a heated flirtation that threatens to expose the secrets each of them has been hiding . . . Can desire and deception ever add up to true love?

A thoroughly roguish nobleman and a devoted lady entomologist have absolutely nothing in common-or do they? Love is far from scientific when it truly blooms . . . In the eyes of the ton, Lady Sara Elsmere is so firmly on the shelf, she might as well be nailed in place. Not that Sara minds. She is far more concerned about her study of butterflies than society's gossip. Of course, it's also true that the nervous laughter that ruined Sara's debut-and every social event thereafter-is a bit embarrassing. She can hardly help it-men are quite nerve-wracking. Except for one: the rake who pulls her into a dark room during a costume ball and kisses her senseless. He doesn't make her titter, he makes her burn . . . Ian McAllister, the Duke of Dorchester, is perfectly satisfied to remain a rogue for the rest of his days. But when he finds he has kissed the wrong shepherdess, albeit a decidedly luscious one, he's faced with a dilemma. His indiscretion with an innocent may cost him a lucrative business arrangement-and his two scapegrace wards need a maternal influence they can't scare away. Promising Sara the use of her dowry to fund her studies seals the pair's businesslike deal. But as they embark on their life together, they discover that their mutual attraction has sparked a desire not easily tamed-and certain feelings each of them are surprised to own. Can their matrimonial experiment possibly end in real love? "A delightful romance filled with period ambiance . . . and a charming supporting cast." -Publishers Weekly on Never Deceive a Viscount