Beastly Lords

From the lush English countryside to the glittering society of Victorian London, and the shabbier side of its gambling hells, Lord Despair thought he'd left the worst behind in the Burmese jungle. He was wrong. Lord Simon Devere returns from the Burmese War haunted by the vivid memory of his slain cousin and powerless to know reality from dreams. Unable to sleep lest he awaken in the cell of his nightmares, he sits in the dark, incapable of believing he is truly home-and safe-in England. Jenny Blackwood is determined not to let her mother and sisters succumb to an unkind fate. With a head for numbers, she becomes the skilled bookkeeper "Mr. Cavendish." One unexpected client is the nobleman cruelly named by gossips as Lord Despair. With the estate's coffers mysteriously dwindling, Jenny goes where others fear to tread, into the darkened room of the unstable earl. Encouraged by her tenacity, Simon believes he can become the man he once was. However, as friendship quickly sparks into passion, they discover the greatest danger lies ahead of them, and the biggest threat to Jenny may be Lord Despair himself.

Contented, privileged, and eligible until a carriage accident hurls him to the cobbled street, John Angsley, Earl of Cambrey, awakens to broken bones and a battered head. Can it get worse? Opium, which eases his pain at first, brings suffering of its own, creating Lord Anguish, who must choose between the lure of laudanum and the woman he loves. Miss Margaret Blackwood is the jammiest bit of jam and all John has ever wanted in a woman. Unfortunately, it's clear from the start she's too young and too fickle to make him a good wife, especially with rival suitors cropping up at every turn. Maggie's decided the Earl of Cambrey's the man for her, if only a few irritating matters don't get in her way-like his two casts, a half-missing eyebrow, and a practically perfect "other" woman. But when she discovers the true insidious rival for his affection, the battle begins in earnest. With the earl changing before her eyes from a thoughtful, kind man into a sneaky, irritable liar desperate for his next dose, Maggie may have to concede defeat and return to her many admirers. Will Lord Anguish choose the blissful relief of opium or the unpredictable passion of the dazzling Miss Blackwood?

Lord Michael Alder has always behaved himself, enjoyed the London social Season, and even became engaged in his quiet, unassuming way. Then treachery shatters his gentlemanly character. So be it . . . if the bon ton thinks him a rogue, he may as well shed the burdensome, boring veneer of decency and decorum. A vile lord unleashed. Worshiping him from afar, Ada Kathryn is thrilled to encounter the dash-fire viscount in the darkened garden. Minutes later, her innocence in tatters, she waits for the noble Lord Alder to do the honorable thing. Instead, she watches as the most vile lord in London saunters away. Two very different reputations at stake. Drinking and carousing with the lowliest wenches to the highest aristocrats, Alder greets each day with a throbbing head, a sour stomach, and an even sourer disposition. Until a desirable new lady arrives in London, a polished stranger, not a hint of vengeance. If Lord Vile thought he understood betrayal and heartache, he hasn't seen anything yet . . .