Unlikely Duchesses

For years, Abigail Linton devoted herself to caring for her parents and her siblings' children. Now, eager to create a life of her own, Abby seizes upon a position as a governess on a neighboring estate. Unfortunately, her absentee employer is Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, the notorious rake who once broke her youthful heart. But since he hasn't set foot on his estate for fifteen years, Abby assumes she'll never have to lay eyes on him ever again. Then, from out of nowhere, Max appears. He is stunned to come face-to-face with the girl he fell for years ago-before he went away and she stopped writing to him...even though Abby swears that he is the one who left her without a word. Could it be that this spirited, witty spinster has won Max's heart all over again-and that they may have a second chance at love?

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He even has the perfect one picked out...that is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She's the opposite of what a man of his high rank should desire in a wife, an outspoken American who has never even set foot in a London ballroom. But Natalie doesn't have time to be swept off her feet by a handsome duke who's probably a spoiled scoundrel like every other British lord. And she couldn't care less about Hadrian's title. After all, it's not as if he actually worked to attain his wealth and status. He surely can't understand what it's like to be a busy woman, planning to open a school while trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan with his English relatives. Nevertheless, Hadrian launches his campaign to win her heart. Can the utterly delightful American beauty ever find a way to love him...despite his being a duke?

Tessa James has worked and planned tirelessly to open her own millinery shop. All she needs now is a loan from the lord who sired and abandoned her. The only problem is she doesn't know his name. What's a woman to do to find him but enter the aristocratic world by becoming a governess? Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin, has returned to London after years abroad to discover that his young daughter Sophy has become a wild-child known for scaring away every governess who's crossed his doorstep. When Tessa James applies for the job, he hires her in desperation, despite his misgivings that she's too bold and beautiful-and that she might be fibbing about her qualifications. Their blooming attraction leads them on a completely unexpected path to love that neither wants to deny. But when an old enemy threatens Guy's family, their forbidden romance goes up in flames. Can they still learn to love and trust each other as forces try to tear them apart?