num_pages: 921
description: An Invitation to the BallBy Fifteen of Your Favorite Historical Romance Authors!You are cordially invited to the most anticipated event of the SeasonLord and Lady Whitwells annual ball! This years theme is the most extravagant yetA Midsummer Nights Dream filled with fairytale gardens and fantastical costumes sparkling champagne and heartwarming romance.Opportunities abound for secret trysts in the shadows of moonlit walks mistaken identities delicious unmaskings and perhaps even a magical spell or two. But one thing is certainfifteen pairs of hearts will never be the same again. Enjoy this collection of never-before-released novellas by your favorite historical romance authors!Season of Scandal by Alyssa AlexanderSecond son Noah Clarke expected to have a long career in the military. When he loses his brother to illness Noah must return home and take his place as the new Earl of Parkwood. Yet Noah is not the same man he once was. Ton gatherings are now insipid and foolishthat is until Noah makes the acquaintance of a masked lady scandalously clad as a soldier.But after six years on the Marriage Mart Miss Prudence Chapman is too outspoken too plain and too intelligent to have received an offer of marriage. Deciding she is most firmly on the shelf Prue is determined to spend her last spring as a Season of Scandal and doing exactly as she pleases before retiring to life as a spinster including engaging in a battle of wits and stolen kisses with a masked stranger... assuming he is a stranger.A Kiss for Luck by Jennifer AshleyLord Guy Lovell an avowed bachelor has no interest at all in the married state. But when young thrice-widowed Gemma Cooke suddenly rushes into his sanctuary seeking rescue from a boorish swain Guys life changes forever.Love Disguised by Grace BurrowesRupert Earl of Esterly kits himself out as a footman hoping to avoid the matchmakers notice at a masquerade. His lordship catches the eye not of the proper lady hes supposed to start courting but of Mary a chamber maid who has no use for titled men. Hes not what she thinks he is but then shes not what she appears to be either!Until You by Gina ConkleAn encounter with a smoldering Scot in a curiosity shop sets Emmas heart aflutter. His stunning offer intrigues herit could mean freedom. Her parents want her suitably wed and she wants more of the dark-eyed Scot Mr. Ramsay. But an air of mystery follows him... until Lord and Lady Whitwells ball where Emma dances in a private garden grotto and sets herself free.Ill Met by Moonlight by Eileen DreyerWhen she sneaks into the conservatory at the Whitwells ball all Anastasia Dunn wants is to escape the relentless fortune-hunters. Even her engagement to an absent duke hasnt helped. Not that she is so anxious to meet him either. Shed rather just play amid flowers even if they arent hers. So when she is joined by an unknown reveler she expects to be annoyed. Maybe it is the fact that she cant see his face beneath the asss head that is part of his costume but she wants him to stay. Until she realizes just who he is. And why he is there.She Walks in Scandal by Elizabeth EssexNicholas Gowan is forced to make his way in the world with his sword teaching fencing to young lordlings with more money than sense. But when he takes on a remarkableand remarkably attractivenew student his prospects begin to change.The Honorable Miss Violet Worth has always known exactly what she wants and isnt afraid to fight for it. Crossed swords soon lead to crossed hearts but a viscounts daughter cant fall in love with a penniless swordsmen. But Violet devises a plan to parry those determined to keep them apart with a clever feint at the Midsummer Nights Ball.The Awakening of Lady Flora by Bronwen EvansWidowed Lady Flora Stanton is attending the Whitwell's annual masquerade ball for one thing only: to finally have a little fun and find herself a paramour. A man who she can share everything with except her heart. Her dead husband owns that and its locked safely away. But is she brave enough to admit shes lonely? The rest of her life is a long time to be without pleasure.Attending the Whitwells ball James Tennison Earl of Battling recognizes the lady in the Grecian Goddess disguise. How could he not? Shes owned his heart for many many years and tonight hes putting the memory of his dead best friend to rest and going after what he wantswhat he needs. He might never win Lady Floras heart but hes not prepared to step aside and let her take any other man into her bed.One Enchanted Evening by Anna HarringtonMason Granger is a victim of proximity. Although the wealthy businessman spurns all society events his townhouse sits next to Lord and Lady Whitwells which means hes caught up in their ball against his willand with their guests when a little girl sneaks into his rear garden to watch the fireworks and her alluring mother Nora chasing after. Emmeline hasnt spoken a word since the carriage accident that killed her father but with the help of his shaggy hound Brutus Mason helps Emmeline speak againthat is to the dog. Stubbornly she refuses to speak to anyone else.As Mason and Nora help Emmeline find the courage to overcome the pasts tragedies can they also find the courage to embrace their futures happiness?Her Wildest Dreams by Jade LeeWhen his cousin ensnares a young woman in a nefarious plot the future Duke of Birchhill must fix the disaster. Who else will protect the biracial Su Yi Phillips? What Anthony discovers is that Su Yi is not helpless doesnt want his rescue and is an enchanting woman in her own right. But even she needs help now and then and Su Yi is confused by this foreign land. Can Anthony convince her to trust what she feels? Not if his ducal family has anything to say about it. Hell need to lay his heart bare before Su Yi risks it all for love.Unmasking the Earl by Madeline MartinLady Cecelia Stopford has asked her aunt a notorious matchmaker to help find her a husband and is expecting someone more reserved just like her. But what she gets is a charmer who flirts with a roguish grin and utterly sweeps her off her feet. When opposites attract and mistaken identities come into play this matchmaking gone awry appears to be a duplicitous matchmaking gone exactly right.A Prince in the Pantry by May McGoldrickPersian Prince Timour Mirza visiting London on a diplomatic mission has been invited to attend Lord and Lady Whitwells masquerade ball. Pearl Smith down on her luck and desperate after her fathers fall from grace is working below stairs during the same event. Timour is curious about London life and trades places with his companion before entering the ball. After Pearl comes to his aid during a moment of conflict in the Servants Hall the two embark on a journey that takes them from Covent Garden to Pall Mall knowing that all they have is this one romantic evening.A Moonlight Kiss by Ella QuinnAt the tender age of twelve Lord Octavius Trevor was sent to serve in the Royal Navy and never looked back. Now on the cusp of getting his own ship they run into a storm that damages the ship and kills the captain. His short stay in Tortola becomes much longer. A fate hed not looked forward to until he meets the captivating Miss Marcella Calder.For Marcella falling in love with Octavius was the easy part and shes shocked when her mother refuses her permission to marry him. Duty demands he depart the island but he promises to return. Before he does her father sends Marcella to her sister in England where she and Octavius re-unite. But his father the Duke of Somerset has another marriage in mind.A Match Unmasked by Erica RidleyMiss Kitty Stanleys childhood boy-next-doorthe arrogant entirely too handsome daredevil Nathaniel Baxterwas supposed to stand up with her for the first dance the night of her come-out. The rotter went off to war instead.Now shes a spinster of means enjoying her freedom at the masquerade ball of the season. Kitty has forgotten that old foolish tendre. She has no need for Brigadier Baxter. Which is a good thing since she hasnt seen him in five long years.But wait... who is the handsome man behind that mask?Lovers and Madmen by Heather SnowLord Edward Phillip Thomas George Walpole Marquess of Burbridge is as stodgy as his very English nameand a night spent at a ball fashioned after a ridiculous romp of a play is his own personal version of hell. But balls are where deals are made and it is vital he have Lord Whitwells political support in brokering a treaty with France that will end more than a decade of war. Therefore he must attend.But will Lady Calliope Hughes as free-spirited as Edward is staid open his eyes to what magic can be made in the moonlight?One Simple Kiss by Sabrina YorkSold off in marriage to a wealthy lord to save her family from penury now-widowed Lady Rose de Vreis has no intention of marrying again. Why should she? Shes wealthy free and best of all not required to attend to any mans carnal needs. Not that she didnt enjoy being married to Count Eddard de Vreis. Ed was a kind man but the love she felt for him was hardly passionate. In fact the thought of passion strikes her as ridiculous.When Liam Mackinnon returns to England to discover that Rosethe woman by whom he has measured all othersis available he is determined to win her. When she confides she has no interest in marriage or the physical falderal that goes with it he knows he can change her mind. If only he can convince her to give him one simple kiss.
language: English
title: A Midsummer Night's Romance
publisher: Rose Garden Books