Cirrus@Austlit

'Clarissa Debenham is a young teacher living in Lyme Regis, when she meets Alistair McKay, a naval officer, who is on shore leave while his ship is undergoing repairs. They fall in love but Clarissa’s father is against the match, and indeed it seems ill-fated when Alistair must go to war against Napoleon Bonaparte. They both know he may never return and even if he does, can they find the happiness they dream of?

'Many years later Clarissa has a fashionable school for young ladies. She is successful and respected; she tells herself she is happy.

'And then suddenly, shockingly, Alistair returns to her life.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Too wicked for proper society and in dire financial straits, Rufus Blainey, the Earl of Southbrook, knows but one solution: to marry an heiress. So when innocent and beautiful Lady Averil Martindale waltzes into his life, Rufus can't imagine a more perfect scenario: woo her, win her, bankrupt her.

'Averil has no intention of spending her life or her money alone. An orphan, she's determined to find her lost half sister and reclaim what little family she has left. When Rufus offers to help locate the elusive girl, Averil is grateful and more than a little intrigued by the handsome, dashing rogue.

'Everything is going according to Rufus's plan. That is until, despite his best efforts, he begins to fall totally, madly, sincerely in love with Averil . . . but will she marry him once she learns the truth?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Clementina Smythe is in love with Lord Horace Gilfoyle ... or rather, she is certain she could learn to love him. Tina simply cannot admit to her fellow Husband Hunters Club members that the only reason she has set her cap on the old family friend is because her family is in desperate straits. Now only to convince Horace that she is a woman to be loved.

'When the devilish chit approaches Richard Eversham about schooling her in the art of seduction, he is more than a little intrigued. But when he learns her intended target, he can't refuse. For behind Richard's rakish mask is a government agent after a villain who calls himself "the captain," and Richard has reason to believe that man is Gilfoyle.

'As the tutoring sessions give way to so much more, Tina knows she can no longer settle for anyone other than Richard. But "the captain" is moving against them and soon Richard will have to reveal his true identity, if he is to save the woman he loves.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It has taken Eugenie Belmont but a moment to decide whom to marry...

'Unfortunately the gentleman in question, the Duke of Somerton, hasn’t yet offered—a mere formality for a confirmed member of the Husband Hunters Club of Miss Debenham’s Finishing School. Like her friends, Eugenie is unwilling to wait demurely until the perfect mate happens by. And, despite the handsome duke’s imposing reputation, she can feel his heated glances in her direction are charged with desire...and possibilities.

'Saddled with a dukedom, a haughty dowager, and an irresponsible younger sister, Sinclair St. John is far too occupied with important matters to indulge in romantic whims. But for the first time in his life, a brazen temptress has him utterly distracted. He could—and he should—dismiss her and court someone more befitting his station. But he is irresistibly drawn to this bewitching woman...and must match her game of seduction, move for passionate move.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Following The Lily and The Sword and The Rose and The Shield, Once He Loves features the disgraced knight, Ivo de Vessey, friend to Radulf and Gunnar. Briar, the daughter of a wealthy lord-turned-traitor, blames Lord Radulf for her family's misfortunes and is determined to avenge her father's death. She is willing to sacrifice herself by luring the mighty lord into her bed. Her game of seduction works too well, however, as Briar learns too late that she has seduced the wrong man!' Source: publisher's website (http://www.harpercollins.com.au/index.aspx).

Beautiful Lady Rose, the fiercely independent mistress of Somerford, reluctantly agrees to hire a bold Viking warrior, Gunnar Olafson, and his mercenaries to protect her undefended lands. But although Gunnar takes her breath away - with his steel-hard muscles and eyes afire with undisguised yearning - she dares not trust him. But Gunnar is not what he seems... (from back cover)