Edith Layton

THE EXQUISITE PRETENDERIn dress, manner, and speech, Miss Elizabeth DeLisle seemed every inch a leisured lady. No one could guess she had been forced to take a position in trade—or that she had come to the Earl of Auden's estate to entice him into naming her dismayingly disagreeable cousin Anthony heir to a fortune that she then could share.But Elizabeth had stiff competition for the Earl's imperious favor...from the schemingly seductive

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Her father's ill-fated ventures land Dulcie Dawn Blessing in London's notorious debtor's prison. In a desperate scheme to win her freedom, she consents to marry a stranger…for a day. Down on his luck but ever a gentleman, Crispin West agrees to oblige a lady in need, even if it means playing the groom in a mock wedding. But flustered by the unexpected loveliness of his "bride," Crispin signs the marriage certificate with his true name, Viscount...

Lady Of Beauty... And MysteryA lovely young woman whose ethereal beauty has enchanted the London ton, Miss Gillian Giles can combat a suitor's unwanted embrace with deadly efficiency. But her talent for self-protection can't help her stave off the most proper advances of one Damon Ryder, the Season's most eligible bachelor. Caught in a compromising position with him--one that could irreparably ruin her reputation--Gilly is dismayed when Damon unhesitatingly...

How does one seduce a bride? Step One: Lay bare her mysteries... Daisy Tanner has taken the ton by storm and Leland Grant, Viscount Haye, wants to know everything about this ravishing, secretive woman who is tempting his friend into marriage. Though his rakish reputation is the stuff of legend, Leland is curiously undone by this exquisite creature who threatens to turn his footloose single life topsy-turvy. Never has he wanted a woman more... Step...

As the poor relation to a wealthy family, lovely Meg Shaw is obliged to be a governess companion to their daughter. But when her charge runs away, and Meg's position with the family is threatened, she embarks on a search of her own to find the missing heiress and clear her good name. Little did she expect that her path would cross Daffyd Reynard, a wealthy and dashing gentleman with the wild heart of a gypsy. Though Meg doesn't trust the glib and...

Katherine Corbet abhors injustice -- and is happy to assist the disturbingly attractive Sir Alasdair St. Erth quash the brazen schemes of a marriage-minded opportunist. But appearing on the arm of the dark, dashing rogue at London balls as his interest will never be more than a sham -- no matter how Katherine's aching heart yearns for more. This naive country miss is ideal! With Katherine's unsuspecting assistance, Alasdair can at long last take his...

The lovely Lady Leonora Talwin had heard all the stories about the rakish Marquess of Severne and vowed never to become one of his victims. But she knew far too little about her foolish heart to daunt this lord who feasted on such feminine frailties.

He sailed to England for revenge…She journeyed there for love. Five-year-old Della Kensington first saw the proud, half-starved bond boy who dared call himself a dispossessed earl on the docks of Virginia Colony. The moment she laid eyes on him she loved him. And from that day, in spite of all evidence, she believed his bizarre story, that he was truly Jared St. Andrew Bellington, Earl of Aveston-nobly born, kidnapped, and sold into bondage. Della...

Presenting a never-before-published, holiday short story from Regency author Edith Layton! Christmas is coming to Victorian London. A poor boy living with his milliner sister in a marginal part of town discovers his cat is missing. His old dog can't live without the cat, so he searches-and hears that the Queen has kidnapped his cat! Queen Victoria's favorite moggie strayed, and her minions scooped up the wrong cat-or so the boy and his sister think....

Felicia, a beautiful innocent faced with the passion of an irresistible rake. Adela, unable to forgive her husband for what he has done to her. Bronwen, forced to choose between a proper marriage and an impossible desire. Marjorie, an unpolished heiress who becomes the target of society's most jaded gentleman. Rachel, a wife who finds that the marriage game is played with shocking rules in high society. Five enchanting heroines in five dazzling tales,...