Halifax Hellions

The Halifax Hellions are the most scandalous, outrageous, ungovernable ladies in London. From the day of their debut-in which Matilda smoked a cheroot and Margo tied a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue-they've turned the town upside down. But when Matilda elopes with a dangerous aristocrat, Margo must stop her twin before this new misadventure becomes a permanent marriage. For help, Margo turns to her brother's best friend-because if anyone can get them to Scotland in time, it's starchy solicitor Henry Mortimer. Henry Mortimer has precisely one secret in his otherwise buttoned-up life: he's been in love with Margo for seven wonderful, agonizing years. When she turns up at his doorstep, soaked to the skin and desperate for his help, he cannot turn her down. A week alone in a carriage with the object of his desires an arm's length away? Surely, he can survive that. He hopes. But the road to Scotland is paved with disasters-caves and crashes and the bloody rain that keeps forcing Henry to hold a damp, shivering, dreadfully tempting Margo in his arms. Only an unstoppable force could drag the truth of Henry's affection from his lips. Unfortunately for him, Margo Halifax has yet to be stopped.

For seven years, Matilda Halifax and her twin have been the most scandalous ladies in London. But when Matilda accidentally sells erotic drawings of the brooding, reclusive Marquess of Ashford, she has-perhaps-gone a bit too far. Christian de Bord, Lord Ashford, knows what it's like to be notorious. Ever since he was accused of murdering his wife, prurient gossip has kept him isolated from society, alone and determined to protect his adolescent sister Bea. But when Matilda Halifax's salacious pamphlet appears-featuring his own damned face!-he's thrust back into the storm of public attention. Bea's painting teacher quits. Christian's life is in an uproar. And the only person he can find to replace Bea's tutor at his terrifying Gothic castle is Matilda herself. The last thing Christian needs is another scandal-especially not one with the most sinfully tempting face he's ever seen. But Matilda is determined to right what she's set wrong. One fake elopement later, Matilda finds herself in a carriage on the way to Northumberland with Christian, whose scowls do little to hide the wounds he carries or the scorching passion beneath his reserve. Only Matilda Halifax could turn Christian's disciplined life so decidedly inside out-and only Matilda can persuade him that love just might be worth the risk.

In 1811, Winifred Wallace told one tiny lie. To secure her future as an independent sheep farmer, she invented an estranged husband named Mr. Spencer Halifax and forged their marriage record. Ten years later, her deception catches up with her: in the form of the disturbingly real, distressingly attractive earl on her doorstep. Spencer Halifax wants to set a good example for his beloved hellion sisters. Ever since their father's death, he's tried to play the role of steady, sensible earl-and involving himself with a moderately felonious sheep farmer is decidedly not sensible. But Winnie's unfettered passion and fierce self-reliance draw him in, even as her closely guarded secrets keep him out. When Spencer asks Winnie to travel with him to London to disentangle their semi-legal union, she's horrified. London, after all, is where her infamous mother pilfered several lavish necklaces from besotted noblemen. But she cannot pass up the chance to return the stolen jewelry-so she agrees to travel with Spencer and give back the gems on the sly. Returning the jewelry, however, is more difficult than Winnie imagined. Monkeys commit theft. Footmen tryst in inconvenient locales. And Winnie realizes that the only way forward is to trust Spencer with the truth of her past-even if doing so threatens their pretend marriage and the all-too-real feelings between them.