Under the Shadow of the Marquess

Only a man with secrets can save her.... Lanora cares nothing for love, marriage, dances or gowns. She cares about people and family. When the rakish Lord William courts her, Lanora sets out to discover what dark secrets motivate him. If she doesn't learn the truth in time, those she loves could suffer a lifetime of hardship.

Cecilia is desperate to put the evils of her first marriage behind her, but as society’s most notorious and wealthy widow, she finds herself adrift in a sea of rakes, cads and fortune hunters. With each attempt at flirtation a greater disaster than the last, she despairs of ever leading a happy life, until the Duke of Solworth asks for her hand. Yes, he’s only looking for an heir and yes, he insists she must live in Egypt, but he’s kind, handsome, and steady. At least, he seems that way, until the moment Cecilia says "I will".

In London, traders of innocents have grown brazen, abducting young women from streets and carriages to sell to the highest bidder. Madelina Graydrake has spent her life training to find and take out the ringleaders behind the abductions, but nothing prepared her for finding good in her prime target, Jasper Mclintock. Jasper Mclintock had everything before his father died. Once the favored son of a Duke, his bastard-status now relegates him to operate undercover on the fringe of society, saving stolen girls from London’s brothels.