AustLit

'Lord Randolph Cavanaugh is loyal and devoted – but only to family. To the rest of the world, he's aloof and untouchable, a respected and driven entrepreneur. But Rand yearns for more in life, and when he travels to Buckinghamshire to review a recent investment, he discovers a passionate woman who will challenge his rigid self–control…

'Felicia Throgmorton intends to keep her family afloat. For decades, her father was consumed by his inventions and now, months after his death, with their finances in ruins, her brother insists on continuing their father's tinkering. Felicia is desperate to hold together what's left of the estate. Then she discovers she must help persuade their latest investor that her father's follies are a risk worth taking…

'Rand arrives at Throgmorton Hall to discover the invention on which he's staked his reputation has exploded, the inventor is not who he expected and a fiercely intelligent woman now holds the key to his future success. But unflinching courage in the face of dismaying hurdles is a trait they share, and Rand and Felicia are forced to act together against ruthless foes to protect everything they hold dear.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A Gentleman of Means

'One of the most eligible bachelors in London, Lord Christopher "Kit" Cavanaugh has discovered his true path and it doesn't include the expected society marriage. Kit is all business and has chosen the bustling port of Bristol to launch his passion - Cavanaugh Yachts.

'A Woman of Character

'Miss Sylvia Buckleberry's passion is her school for impoverished children. When a new business venture forces the school out of its building, she must act quickly. But confronting Kit Cavanaugh is a daunting task made even more difficult by their first and only previous meeting, when, believing she'd never see him again, she'd treated him dismissively. Still, Sylvia is determined to be persuasive.

'An Unstoppable Duo

'But it quickly becomes clear there are others who want the school - and Cavanaugh Yachts - closed. Working side by side, Kit and Sylvia fight to secure her school and to expose the blackguard trying to sabotage his business. Yet an even more dastardly villain lurks, one who threatens the future both discover they now hold dear.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Stacie—Lady Eustacia Cavanaugh—is adamant marriage is not for her. Haunted by her parents' unhappy union, Stacie believes that, for her, marriage is an unacceptable risk. Wealthy and well-born, she needs for nothing, and with marriage off the table, to give her life purpose, she embarks on a plan to further the careers of emerging local musicians by introducing them to the ton via a series of musical evenings.Yet despite her noble status, Stacie requires a musical lure to tempt the haut ton to her events, and in the elevated circles she inhabits, only one musician commands sufficient cachet—the reclusive and notoriously reluctant Marquess of Albury.

'Frederick, Marquess of Albury, has fashioned a life for himself as a musical scholar, one he pursues largely out of sight of the ton. He might be renowned as a virtuoso on the pianoforte, yet he sees no reason to endure the smothering over-attentiveness of society. Then his mother inveigles him into meeting Stacie, and the challenge she lays before him is ... tempting. On a number of fronts. Enough for him not to immediately refuse her.

'A dance of subtle persuasion ensues, and step by step, Frederick finds himself convinced that Stacie's plan has real merit and that it behooves him to support her. At least for one event.

'Stacie's first musical evening, featuring Frederick as the principal performer, is a massive success—until Fate takes a hand and lands them in a situation that forces them both to reassess.Does Frederick want more than the sterile, academic life he'd thought was for him?

'Can Stacie overcome her deepest fears and own to and reach for her girlhood dreams?

'Impulsive, arrogant, and used to getting his own way, Frederick finds his answer easily enough, but his new direction puts him on a collision course with Stacie's fears. Luckily, he thrives on challenges—which is just as well, because in addition to convincing Stacie that love can, indeed, conquer all, he and she must unravel the mystery of who is behind a spate of murderous attacks before the villain succeeds in eliminating all hope of a happy ending.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'#1 New York Timesbestselling author Stephanie Laurens concludes the tales of the Cavanaugh siblings with the riveting story of the youngest brother and his search for a family of his own.

'The scion of a noble house who is caught in a storm and the lady who nurses him back to health strive to unravel a web of deception that threatens her family and ensnares them both, forcing them to fight for what they hold most dear—family, each other, and love.

'Lord Godfrey Cavanaugh has no thoughts of marrying as he drives into North Yorkshire on a plum commission for the National Gallery to authenticate a Renaissance painting the gallery wishes to purchase. Then a snow storm sweeps in, and Godfrey barely manages to haul himself, his groom, and his horses to their destination. 

'Elinor Hinckley, eldest daughter of Hinckley Hall, stalwart defender of the family, right arm to her invalid father, and established spinster knows full well how much her family has riding on the sale of the painting and throws herself into nursing the initially delirious gentleman who holds her family’s future in his hands.

'But Godfrey proves to be a far from easy patient. Through Ellie’s and her siblings’ efforts to keep him entertained and abed, Godfrey grows to know the family, appreciating and, ultimately, being drawn into family life of a sort he’s never known.

'Eventually, to everyone’s relief, he recovers sufficiently to assess the painting—only to discover that nothing, but nothing, is as it seems.

'Someone has plans, someone other than the Hinckleys, but who is pulling the strings is a mystery that Godfrey and Ellie find near-impossible to solve. Every suspect proves to have perfectly understandable, albeit hidden reasons for their behavior, and Godfrey and Ellie remain baffled.

'Until the villain, panicked by their inquiries, strikes—directly at them—and forces them both to acknowledge what has grown to be the most important thing in their lives. Both are natural defenders of the weak and neither will give up. Together they battle to save not just themselves, not just her family, but their futures. Hers, his, and theirs.'

Source : publisher's blurb