Who will be the last man standing?

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander's delicious series about four men desperately trying to avoid matrimony continues...

Lady Cordelia Bannister simply cannot marry a man she has not chosen herself, no matter what her father decrees. So, pretending to be her own companion, she decides to seek out information about her intended by meeting with his secretary?a man who soon beguiles her. But Lady Cordelia doesn't know the truth?the man can't resist is really her intended, Daniel Sinclair.

Daniel has nearly won the wager he made with three of London's most eligible bachelors. While two of his compatriots have surrendered to the shackles of marriage, he's remained free to woo any woman he chooses. Yet duty forces him to consider Lady Cordelia, so, determined to find a way to escape honor intact, he continues the masquerade he started.

Each finds the other completely irresistible, but when they uncover their mutual mistaken identities, Daniel and Cordelia must make the most important choice of all...

A Little Bit Wicked

One bachelor down . . . three more to go. Four most desirable gentlemen have wagered one shilling apiece and a bottle of cognac that will go to the last unmarried man standing . . .

Nigel Cavendish knows he'll marry one day, but hopefully that day is many years?and many women?in the future! Until then, the handsome, unrepentant rake intends to enjoy life's pleasures to the fullest!

From the moment Lady Felicity Melville spies the adventurous scoundrel climbing from a neighbor's window?with his comely conquest's husband in hot pursuit?she knows Nigel is the answer to her prayers . . . with a little reformation, of course! Felicity craves excitement and who in all of London is more exciting than the infamous Mr. Cavendish? So what's a girl to do but hatch a scheme to win what she so fervently desires. But her plan works too well when a game of chance and an errant pistol shot abruptly make them husband and wife?but in a way neither wanted.

Now Felicity has to prove to her wayward husband that she's the only woman he could ever want . . . or need!

Long ago, a poor servant girl created an exquisite wedding gown for her haughty mistress, who was to marry the man that the girl loved with all her heart. Though tempted to stop the marriage using her secret magical skills, she instead ensured the groom's happiness by enchanting the dress so that whoever possessed it would be blessed with true love.

But the spell went delightfully awry, working its magic for the servant girl instead of her mistress-and then the dress mysteriously vanished. Who knows where or when it may turn up next, for some blushing bride to claim as her very own?

The famous soprano, Lottie English, is ?? unbeknownst to anyone ?? really the Lady Charlotte Hughes. Colin has been admiring Lottie from afar for almost three years when he finally decides to ask her to be his mistress. Instead, Lady Charlotte suggests they marry so that he can finance a European tour for her, and he can have her legally. Colin agrees, and soon discovers someone at the theater is trying to hurt her. But it's only when her dressing room is vandalized does Charlotte reveal that she possesses a rare, unpublished piece by George Handel that she supsects is the reason for all the violence. Fortunately, Colin secretly works for the government as a forger, and together they concoct a plan to set up the thief. As they work together, they discover true love in the face of danger.

Sensual. Seductive. Emotional. No one stirs the heart and imagination like Mary Balogh. In this classic novel, the New York Times bestselling author weaves a spellbinding tale of two people haunted by desire, unable to resist the love that has become their most passionate obsession.?

When James Purnell walks into the London drawing room and sees Lady Madeline Raine, time stops. Once she had been his for the taking. Now she is an aloof, beautiful stranger, determined to keep the devilishly handsome nobleman from seducing her again. But after four years apart, desire reignites?swift, hot, irresistible?culminating in a night of reckless lovemaking. Suddenly Madeline is faced with an unbearable choice: marry with no hope of love or risk certain ruin. Her decision will have consequences she never imagined, as she makes a shocking discovery about the man she secretly loves. What she doesn?t know is how far James will go to right the wrongs of the past?and how much he?s willing to risk for the woman who already owns him?body, heart, and soul.

From one of America?s most beloved storytellers comes a classic love story?the breathtaking tale of a man and a woman caught in a web of temptation and seduction.

All she wanted was to escape the hot, crowded London ballroom. But moments after stepping into the bitterly cold night, she is seized by a pair of strong hands and spirited away. Fully expecting to be ravished, sheltered Alexandra Purnell instead finds herself at the mercy of the man who saved her from certain scandal. Edmund, Earl of Amberley, is bold and sensual, tempting Alexandra to be reckless for the first time in her life. But as passion ignites, Edmund?s offer of marriage takes Alexandra completely by surprise. Now a woman who craves her freedom above all else is about to discover how far one man will go to protect and possess the woman he loves.?

Mary Balogh has no equal when it comes to capturing the complex, irresistible passions between men and women. Her classic novel, The Secret Pearl, is one of the New York Times bestselling author?s finest?a tale of temptation and seduction, of guarded hearts and raw emotion?and of a love so powerful it will take your breath away?.

He first spies her in the shadows outside a London theatre, a ravishing creature forced to barter her body to survive.

To the woman known simply as Fleur, the well-dressed gentleman with the mesmerizing eyes is an unlikely savior. And when she takes the stranger to her bed, she never expects to see him again. But then Fleur accepts a position as governess to a young girl?and is stunned to discover that her midnight lover is a powerful nobleman. As two wary hearts ignite?and the threat of scandal hovers over them?one question remains: will she be mistress or wife?

New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh returns to the elegance and sensuality of Regency England as she continues the enthralling story of four remarkable women?friends and teachers at Miss Martin?s School for Girls. At the center of this spellbinding novel is Anne Jewell, a teacher haunted by a scandalous past?until she meets a man who teaches her the most important lesson of all: nothing is simple when it comes to love.?

She spies him in the deepening dusk of a Wales evening?a lone figure of breathtaking strength and masculinity, his handsome face branded by a secret pain. For single mother and teacher Anne Jewell, newly arrived with her son at a sprawling estate in Wales on the invitation of an influential friend, Sydnam Butler is a man whose sorrows?and passions?run deeper than she could have ever imagined.

As steward of a remote seaside manor, Sydnam lives a reclusive existence far from the pity and disdain of others. Yet almost from the moment Anne first appears on the cliffs, he senses in this lovely stranger a kindred soul, and between these two wary hearts, desire stirs. Unable to resist the passion that has rescued them both from loneliness, Anne and Sydnam share an afternoon of exquisite lovemaking. Now the unwed single mother and war-scarred veteran must make a decision that could forever alter their lives. For Sydnam, it is a chance to heal the pain of the past. For Anne, it is the glorious promise of a future with the man who will dare her to reveal her deepest secrets?before she can give him all her heart.

From the Hardcover edition.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh returns to the seductive world she knows so well?Regency England?in a new novel filled with her trademark wit, sensuality, and breathtaking storytelling. With this, the first in a dazzling new quartet of novels, Balogh invites us into a special world?a select academy for young ladies?a world of innocence and temptation. Drawing us into the lives of four women, teachers at Miss Martin?s School for Girls, Balogh introduces this novel?s marvelous heroine: music teacher Frances Allard?and the man who seduces her with a passion no woman could possibly forget.?

They meet in a ferocious snowstorm. She is a young teacher with a secret past. He is the cool, black-caped stranger who unexpectedly comes to her rescue. Between these two unlikely strangers, desire is instantaneous?and utterly impossible to resist. Stranded together in a rustic country inn, Lucius Marshall, who is the Viscount Sinclair, and Frances Allard share a night of glorious, unforgettable passion. But Frances knows her place?and it is far from the privileged world of the sensual aristocrat. Due to begin her teaching position at Miss Martin?s School in Bath, Frances must try to forget that one extraordinary night?and the man who touched her with such exquisite tenderness and abandon.

But Frances cannot hide forever. And when fate once again throws them together, Lucius refuses to take no for an answer. If Frances will not be his wife, he will make her his mistress. So begins an odyssey fraught with intrigue, one that defies propriety and shocks the straitlaced ton. For Lucius?s passionate, single-minded pursuit is about to force Frances to give up all her secrets?except one?to win the heart of the man she already loves.

Once again this incomparable storyteller captures a time and a place like no other. And in Lucius and Frances, Mary Balogh gives us her most unlikely lovers yet?a nobleman in search of the perfect wife and an unconventional woman willing to risk everything for an unforgettable love.

All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke?s eye?and she was the only female in the room who wasn?t even trying. Christine Derrick is intrigued by the handsome duke?all the more so when he invites her to become his mistress.

What red-blooded woman wouldn?t enjoy a tumble in the bedsheets with a consummate lover?with no strings and no questions asked. An infuriating lady with very definite views on men, morals, and marriage, Christine confounds Wulfric at every turn. Yet even as the lone wolf of the Bedwyn clan vows to seduce her any way he can, something strange and wonderful is happening. Now for a man who thought he?d never lose his heart, nothing less than love will do.

With her trademark wit, riveting storytelling, and sizzling sexual sparks, Mary Balogh once again brings together two polar opposites: an irresistible, high-and-mighty aristocrat and the impulsive, pleasure-loving woman who shows him what true passion is all about. A man and a woman so wrong for each other, it can result only in the perfect match.

From the Hardcover edition.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh brilliantly captures the passionate conflict of a woman caught between two loves in this classic tale of friendship, devotion, intrigue?and a love that is the most seductive trap of all?.

He?d served with her husband on the battlefield?and secretly desired her for years. Yet for Dominic, Lieutenant Lord Eden, Ellen Simpson has remained tantalizingly out of reach?until she is widowed by the war. Suddenly pursued by the dangerously handsome nobleman, Ellen is stunned by the depth of attraction he arouses in her. Soon their friendship flames into something deeper?and as scandal ignites, marriage seems the only solution. But Ellen has a secret?one she can share with no one?that prevents her from fully opening her heart to Dominic. Until he devises his own plan for the ultimate consummation of their passion?and the woman he is determined to possess at any cost?

Seeking revenge, she discovers how delicious a case of mistaken identity can be....

Merriam Everett has always been regarded as a shy, docile creature. But for one night, Merriam the Mouse has become a temptress who will recklessly take her pleasure with the arrogant earl who once slighted her, and then leave him aching with lust. A fine plan, if Merriam had not just seduced the wrong rogue!

Drake Sotherton left England amid dark speculation and has returned to seek vengeance against Julian Clay, the man he believes murdered his wife. Convinced that the masked beauty who seduced him is Julian's pawn, Drake tracks her down and proposes that she become his mistress for the Season. Every sensual desire, every secret longing will be explored...and fulfilled.

But keeping his enemy close is a dangerous game. Merriam is an irresistible mix of innocence and abandon, and each encounter proves more soul-searing than the last. With a passion this wild, this wonderful, one Season will never be enough....