Abigail Bridges

Neither of them is where they want to be. They are, however, where they need to be.Lady Elizabeth Ashton had been one of the 1825 season's best-known and desired debutantes. But when her brother's scandal leaves Beth's reputation in tatters, she seeks refuge at the northern estate of her sister-in-law's aunt. But all is not as it appears at the home of Lady Sophia Timmons, and Beth soon discovers Sophia is quietly providing a refuge for young women who have been ruined-a secret the entire household works to keep hidden.But as Beth heads north, Richard Christopher Caudale, Duke of Kirkstone, heads south. Kit has been searching for his sister Mary for months and has tracked her to the home of Lady Sophia Timmons. But the weeks on the road have taken their toll, and by the time Kit arrives at Timmons House, he collapses, ill and close to death.On impulse Beth volunteers to nurse the young duke back to health, vowing to keep Sophia's secret safe. Mary, however, is in the house and for the same reason as Sophia's other guests-she is with child, ruined and at risk of destroying her family. As Kit heals, however, Beth devises an outrageous plan to salvage them all.If only Kit is courageous and daring enough to try.The Ashton Park seriesTo Stop a ScoundrelA Rogue Like YouNothing but a RakeThe Duke I Came For

He believes love is an unattainable goal. She is facing a marriage without it. But when their paths cross in a mud-drenched alley, both discover something neither thought possible-hope.Four years ago, Lord Michael Ashton stood at a crossroads in Gretna Green, abandoned, penniless, and determined neither would happen again. The third son of the Duke of Kennet, Michael left his family for a life in the darkest streets of London. Now his father has delivered an ultimatum, and Michael faces a steep climb out of the gutter.Lady Clara Durham struggles to find her place in Society as well. She is too round and too smart to please most aristocratic gentlemen, and far too quick with her tongue. But with her father's health declining, Clara agrees to marry the Duke of Wykeham, a prickly man with ulterior motives.Everything shifts, however, when Clara's kitten disappears down an alley. Clara darts after her, tripping headlong into a mudpuddle behind the Kennet stables. When Michael helps her up, he becomes fascinated by this woman who loves horses, talks about hunting with a falcon, and is more interested in finding her cat than cleaning off the mud.The sparks that fly between them leave both determined to help each other out. But their struggle to make new places for themselves in London's Society explodes into a conflict between three powerful families that results in a horse race with their future at stake and a duel that could destroy them both.