As far as rash decisions go, it was formidable. But Lady Jocelyn Rathbourne's will remains strong. If the only way to save her family's estate and reputation is by aiming a small pistol at the Duke of Calydon, then so be it. For Lady Jocelyn demands satisfaction - and she will have it at any cost. Even if it means demanding the hand of the intense and foreboding Duke himself....

London is buzzing with the news that James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he's been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen . . . or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.

Georgiana Milford may be a wealthy heiress without title, but even she has her limits. It's vexing enough to be courted by every fortune-hunting noble during the Season—goodness, you'd think she was hiding a gold mine beneath her skirts! But this is not to be condoned. Because during a merry two-week party at a lord's country home, she's forced to endure her father's greatest enemy and the most wretched duke in all of England: the Duke of Despots.

Vivacious, bold, beautiful Madison Hutton is an instant success when she arrives in London for her debut season. While she has caught the eye of many an eligible bachelor, her head is not so easily turned. Madison is looking for one thing: a true love marriage. When she meets Henry, a dashing young marquess, she thinks she has found her perfect match.

Lady Augusta Penworthy is in dire straights. Her father has spent every last coin, and she and her sisters cannot even afford coal. One chance encounter and a torn gown changes everything. While one might think a sudden marriage to a wealthy lord a relief if that marriage is to the Duke of Blacktower, one would be vastly mistaken. For no young lady wishes to be that infamous rake's bride.

When Clara Mayfield helps her sister elope, she's prepared for the scandal to seal her fate as a spinster. What she doesn't expect is to find herself engaged to the vile Baron Rutherford as a means of salvaging her family's reputation. Determined not to be chained to a man she loathes, Clara slips out of Essex and sheds her identity: She becomes Helen, maid at the Earl of Ashworth's country estate.

Joanna Porter loves being one of London's hottest up-and-coming matchmakers. But her heavenly vocation is about to turn into a nuptial nightmare—thanks to the Duke of Crestmont. He's as handsome as he is insufferable and obsessed with all things proper. Matching him would cement Jo's status as England's greatest matchmaker. Except, of course, the impossible-to-please duke refuses all of her most eligible ladies...confirming his status as a complete and utter pain in her petticoats.

It's never been easy to be one of the five Templeton sisters, but for quiet Emmeline, the silver lining surrounding the dark cloud of her family's disgrace is a quiet life of comfortable obscurity. Then an unexpected kiss with a handsome earl thrusts shy Emmeline into the middle of a shocking public scandal. Johnathan Parrish, the Earl of Melrose, never meant to kiss Emmeline Templeton. She is perfectly wrong for him, and he's never before spared the shy wallflower a single glance, but after one kiss, the memory of her warm curves are imprinted forever on Johnathan's fingertips.

Lady Diana Malbury is known for her charm and intelligence, why else would she rather solve another one of the late Earl of Chestwick's word puzzles than entertain potential suitors for the Season? The old earl presents her with the highest-stake challenge yet . . . If she remains unwed for the Season, she can return to his estate next summer and solve the latest puzzle by way of his extensive library, her favorite place in England . . . But Randal Wilson, the new Earl of Chestwick, has returned from the war a decorated hero but also wounded and angry.

Miss Isabelle Catherine Hutting would rather be lounging in the library than circling the ballroom in search of a husband any day. So when Cat hears that the town's infamous Spinster House is open for a new resident, she jumps at the chance to put all this marriage business behind her. But first she must make arrangements with her prospective landlord, Marcus, the duke of Hart - the most handsome man she's ever seen and the only man who's ever impressed her in the least.