by Margaret Westhaven (1986)
Abandoned in Bath with her grandmother-in-law by her diplomat husband immediately after her wedding, Cassandra, Lady Chase, is anxious about the return of the husband she barely knows.
Elisabeth Fairchild
Valentine Wharton has been drowning is sorrow ever since he lost his beloved Penny Foster to the town gossips. But Wharton no longer cares what the members of the ton have to say—not since high society scorned his beloved Penny. Now his sole care is for his nine-year-old daughter, Felicity, who his one and only love left behind and who he cherishes more than life itself.
Nicola Cornick
"Courting scandal since girlhood, free-spirited Lady Elizabeth Scarlet vows there is just one way to save her childhood friend from a loveless marriage: to kidnap him! But Nathaniel is furious. So angry that he challenges her to take their assignation to its natural conclusion and seduce him. When her inexperienced attempt flares into intense passion, Lizzie is ruined...and hopelessly, unexpectedly, in love with Nathaniel, the Earl of Waterhouse. Now the wild and willful Lizzie must convince Nat that they are a perfect match--in every way."--p. [4] of cover.
Dawn Lindsey
YOUNG LOVE, THROWN AWAY, MAY NEVER BE FOUND AGAIN... Jessica Lansdowne, a handsome woman whose sprightly manner hid a well-kept secret, at six and twenty had adjusted quite nicely to a life of quiet unmarried propriety. Until dashing Max returned. Or rather, Lord Brough, as he was now rightfully called. No longer the young roustabout with no manners and even less money whom Jessica, along with everyone else in town, had rejected years ago. And to make matters even more unbearable, Merry, Jessica's spirited niece and ward, had foolishly fallen in love with a handsome lieutenant. But a soldier without a war was a man with no prospects. Now Jessica was obliged to advise her dearest niece against a marriage of the heart-even as she felt herself falling in love all over again.
Teresa DesJardien
WEDDING BELLS A hasty marriage to redeem her reputation was bad enough, but Alessandra's punishment for an innocent moment in the park was not to end there. Only if she and her new husband Jeffrey Huntingsley managed to share sleeping quarters for a month, yet leave their marriage unconsummated, would Alessandra's father agree to an annulment. A needlessly tedious exercise, Alessandro fumed, since it was a simple matter to remain at arm's distance from a husband she scarcely knew. Although he was a most handsome and agreeable gentleman. And the nights did seem inexplicably colder, longer, and lonelier than ever before .... WEDDING NIGHT Observing the terms of the "annulment agreement" should have presented no difficulty for a gentleman Jeffrey Huntingsley. All it took was a scrupulous consideration for Alessandra's sensibilities, a modicum of self control, and a few pillows dividing the marriage bed down the middle. If all else failed, a midnight card game or two ought to do the trick. But the sight of his bride, adorably attired in a modest nightgown, was distinctly unsettling. Alessandra was proving a decent sort, and Jeffrey would be a scoundrel indeed to take advantage of her innocence, despite the inviting warmth he was convinced he saw in her eyes ... .