the first snowdrop

The Abandoned Bride

The handsome, elegant Alexander Stewart, Viscount Merrick, wed young and innocent Miss Anne Parrish in haste-his hand forced by circumstance and honor. But now his duty was done-and it was Anne who had to repent at leisure.

Merrick declared he would return to London to resume the pursuit of pleasure that Anne had so rudely interrupted. Anne for her part was free to enjoy the privileges of her new position-but enjoy them as alone as only a proper wife without a proper husband could be.

Anne's only revenge for this cruel insult would be to break the heart of this man who had broken hers. But to do this she would have to be even more heartless than he…

gentle conquest

THE BASHFUL BRIDEGROOM

It should have been the perfect marriage for beautiful Georgiana Burton. The husband her parents had picked for her, Lord Ralph Chartleigh, was wealthy, handsome, noble, and kind. Unfortunately, he did not measure up to Georgiana's firm notions of what a man should be. He was uninterested in society, impervious to fashions, had the worst of tailors, knew little of women -- and was wary of the little he knew. Clearly Georgiana had to teach him a great deal about life and even more about love...forgetting until it was almost too late how much she had to learn herself.…

a gift of daisies

THE IMPOSSIBLE MR. GOWER

Lady Rachel Palmer was quite used to men falling helplessly in love with her. Every gentleman in aristocratic society, including her devoted fiance, Lord Algernon Rivers, fell a willing victim to Rachel's dazzling beauty and bewitching charm.

Every gentleman, that is, except Lord Rivers' closest friend, the studiously unfashionable and splendidly handsome Mr. David Gower.

Mr. Gower made it clear that the ravishing Rachel represented everything he scorned, and that he was the very last man in the world she could ever ensnare. It was a challenge Rachel could not ignore - from a man she could not resist ….

heartless

Lucas Kendrick, the Duke of Harndon, had never met a woman like Lady Anna Marlowe. For years he had refused to feel love, but he was captivated by Anna's beauty and her rustic innocence. Anna's heart raced whenever she was around Lucas. After what seemed like a lifetime of pain and suffering, she had learned that life still held joy - and maybe love.

When they married, both Anna and Lucas were dreaming of happier futures. But those hopes were crushed when a cold confrontation found them denying their feelings. Anna felt foolish for believing that her nightmare past was over. She told Lucas that she had married only in the hope that her new husband would take care of her family. Lucas was furious that he had allowed himself to feel for someone again - and told Anna that he had married her only because of the duty of his station.

They resigned themselves to a heartless marriage of duty, and a return to past unhappiness. But in their hearts, their dreams would never die...