Bücher von Darcy Burke

Quand Miss Eleanor Lockhart se retrouve subitement sans domicile et sans argent, trouver un emploi est sa seule option. Compromise pour avoir succombé au charme d'un vaurien presque dix ans plus tôt, elle a la chance d'être engagée comme dame de compagnie et se promet de se conduire de manière exemplaire. Elle ne devrait absolument pas se trouver dans les bras d'un homme qui pourrait finir de ruiner sa réputation...Titus St. John, duc de Kendal, est surnommé Le Duc Inaccessible. Mystérieux et intimidant, il ne côtoie la Société qu'une seule fois par an pour le bal de sa belle-mère. Dix ans auparavant, il se conduisait comme un débauché désinvolte jusqu'à ce que son inconséquence ne provoque la déchéance d'Eleanor Lockhart, et n'aboutisse à sa retraite volontaire. Maintenant qu'elle est de retour, elle a besoin de son aide. Mais en essayant de la sauver, il risque simplement de ruiner sa vie une nouvelle fois.

Pendant les deux années qui ont suivi le décès de son mari bien-aimé, Eugenia, duchesse douairière de Kendal, s'est isolée pour le pleurer. Sa cousine organise une partie de campagne et l'a persuadée d'y assister; c'est l'occasion parfaite pour sortir de son deuil. Genie est impatiente de revoir de vieux amis mais elle est choquée d'apprendre le véritable but de cette réunion: permettre à des veuves et des hommes veufs ou célibataires de se rencontrer.Autrefois épris de la jeune Eugenia Aldwick, Edmund Holt, comte de Satterfield, est ravi de revoir Genie à cette partie de campagne. Une attraction mutuelle naît immédiatement entre eux, bien qu'il ait besoin d'une épouse qui puisse lui donner un héritier et qu'elle n'en soit pas capable. Genie adorerait aussi éléver d'autres enfants après avoir perdu sa fille plusieurs années auparavant.Pourront-ils saisir cette seconde chance d'aimer ou laisseront-ils les exigences de son titre et les désirs de son coeur de mère les séparer?

For two years following the death of her beloved husband, Eugenia, the Dowager Duchess of Kendal has grieved and kept to herself. Her cousin is hosting a house party and has persuaded Genie to attend-it's the perfect opportunity to emerge from mourning. Genie is looking forward to seeing old friends but is shocked when she learns the true purpose of the occasion: to match widowed ladies with widowed and unmarried gentlemen.Once infatuated with a young Eugenia Aldwick, Edmund Holt, Earl of Satterfield is thrilled when Genie arrives at the matchmaking house party. Mutual attraction sparks between them immediately, however he is in need of a wife who can provide an heir and she is unable to do so. Genie would also dearly love to be a mother after losing her daughter several years before. Can they embrace a second chance at love or will the demands of his title and the pull of her maternal heart prove too strong to ignore?

Graham Kinsley is shocked when he inherits a debt-ridden dukedom, and now he has just one month to repay a loan. He needs an heiress-or find a way to recoup the former duke's losses. When he meets the alluring Arabella, he's entranced. Unfortunately, she's as bankrupt as he is, but if they work together they may be able to recover their fortunes. Though if they keep stealing kisses, they may lose their hearts instead.Arabella Stoke can't afford an attraction to the penniless duke who has vowed to help rescue her family from financial devastation. She needs to find a wealthy husband before her father succumbs to the stress of losing everything. However, as Graham brings them closer to finding the swindler who stole their money, the war between what they want and what they need may ruin them both.

Jack Barrett is an ambitious member of parliament with no time or desire for a wife. When he catches the Duke of Eastleigh's sister sneaking inside one of London's private gentlemen's clubs, he's shocked-and dangerously charmed-and assumes the role of protector, only to discover she has the means to destroy him.Social pariah Lady Viola Fairfax masquerades as a man to pen a column in a popular women's magazine. When she stumbles upon a brewing scandal that implicates a prominent MP, she seizes the chance to establish herself as a real journalist. However, the infuriating and intoxicating man may not be the radical he's purported to be, and the more time they spend together, the more she risks the one thing she's sworn never to do: fall in love.

After one passionate night a decade ago, Valentine Fairfax, Duke of Eastleigh, never forgot Isabelle, the intelligent, witty and forbidden daughter of a head of college at Oxford. However, since suffering a disastrous marriage to an unfaithful wife, the duke has vowed never to succumb to temptation again. Until the day he discovers his friend's governess is the one woman who still haunts his dreams.Once penniless, Isabelle Cortland has finally saved enough money to finance a school for impoverished girls. But when a chance encounter rekindles buried desires, Isabelle knows she can't be a duke's mistress and a headmistress at the same time. No longer a naïve girl, Isabelle won't repeat the past. Not even for one night of surrender...

Lady Lavinia Gillingham prefers rocks and dirt to marriage. Her passion is science, and she's determined to marry if-and only if-she finds a man who supports her interests and intellect. So far, she's managed to avoid attention on the Marriage Mart, but when the Duke of Seduction pens anonymous letters singing her praises, she suddenly become the toast of the ton and matrimony seems imminent.William Beckett, Marquess of Northam possesses the reputation of a rake but is secretly a romantic. Spurned at sixteen and knowing his sister was victimized by Society, he uses music and poetry to fill the void in his soul. As the Duke of Seduction, he uses his skill to help Lavinia, never anticipating she has no desire for assistance or that she could be the balm he needs. But when she's on the verge of becoming engaged, can Beck beat back the shadows of the past and open his heart again?

With her betrothal to a duke in tatters and scandal imminent, Diana Kingman has two choices: live in certain ignominy or flee into obscurity. Diana wants solitude. She never wished to wed in the first place. However, her father will stop at nothing to betroth her to one of the finest titles in the realm…no matter how loathsome the bearer. Escape is Diana's only option, and she'll pay any price to achieve freedom.Universally blamed for the death of his wife and unborn child, Simon Hastings doesn't dispute his guilt over an accident he cannot even remember. He hasn't had a drink since, nor a moment's peace. Determined to be a better man, Simon rescues a young woman in need-only to be accused of kidnapping. They must marry to save him from prison. But how can a man haunted by the love he lost and a woman afraid to get too close find happiness together?

Everyone Nicholas Bateman ever loved has died. Except Violet Caulfield, which must mean he never loved her. Nine years after she threw him over to marry a viscount, Nick is a widowed duke who prefers isolation. When a friend convinces him to leave his lair of self-imposed solitude, he considers taking another wife, provided she agrees to his terms: no emotional attachment of any kind.Now widowed, Lady Violet Pendleton hopes for a second chance with the man she's always loved. But she isn't prepared for the desolation in his soul or the animosity he still bears toward her. Despite those obstacles, it's clear their passion hasn't dimmed. However, the heat between them isn't enough to melt the Duke of Ice, and this time Violet may find herself the jilted party. Can love, once so tragically lost, finally be found?

After killing his opponent in a duel, Lionel Maitland, Marquess of Axbridge, is known as the Duke of Danger. Tortured by guilt, he shields himself with a devil-may-care attitude. However, when he kills another man in another duel, he's beyond redemption, even though it wasn't his fault. He refuses to smear a dead man's name, especially when he's left behind a blameless widow who doesn't deserve an even bigger scandal.Widowed and destitute, Lady Emmaline Townsend must marry the man of her parents' choosing or beg unsympathetic relatives for support. The only way out is to ask for help from the one man she's sworn to hate, the man who owes her anything she asks, the man who killed her husband. They strike a devil's bargain in which passion simmers just beneath the surface. But her dead husband's transgressions come back to haunt them and threaten their chance at love.

Difficult and defiant as a child, Bran Crowther, Earl of Knighton left England as a young man to pursue independence and adventure. He never expected to inherit the title and when duty calls him home, he still finds Society's codes constricting and others' expectations oppressive. Nevertheless, he needs a wife to be a mother to his young daughter, preferably a woman of intelligence and warmth who is, above all, immune to his idiosyncrasies-and to falling in love.Widow Joanna Shaw isn't interested in a second marriage, not after the loveless, passionless union she endured. She'd much rather dote on her young niece and nephew since they will likely be the only children in her life…until she meets a precocious girl, in desperate need of a mother. But her father, the so-called Duke of Defiance, is as peculiar as he is handsome, and Jo won't take another risk with her heart. Their rules, however, are made to be broken, even when the consequences could destroy them both.

Ten years ago Ivy Breckenridge's life was ruined. She had to reinvent herself, and now, after painstakingly making her own way in the world, she's nearly forgotten the dreams of home and family she'd once nurtured. Until one man peers into her soul and awakens every one of her hidden desires. But no matter how good he makes her feel, she can't trust him-alone by choice is better than alone by necessity.With a notorious reputation for training married women in the art of passion, Sebastian Westgate, Duke of Clare, is reviled by some and celebrated by others. He doesn't allow anyone close enough to see past his charming exterior. When Ivy uncovers the man beneath, the seducer is suddenly the seduced. Enraptured by her mind and spirit, he wants more but revealing his darkest secrets is a price he won't pay.

After five years on the Marriage Mart, Miss Aquilla Knox is ready for spinsterhood until a benefactress steps in to help her secure a husband. Only Aquilla doesn't actually want to marry-her failure is entirely on purpose. When the earl she's nicknamed the Duke of Deception sets his sights on her, she refuses to be drawn in by her attraction to him. If there's one thing she knows it's that a gentleman is never what he seems.Edward Bishop, Earl of Sutton, has a reputation for courting young misses and dropping them without a second thought. This has earned him a reputation for deceit, a description he can't refute because he does in fact, harbor secrets and will do anything-deceive anyone-to ensure they don't come to light. As he comes to know the charming Miss Knox, his resolve is tested. However, trust comes at a price and Ned won't pay with his heart.

Miss Lucinda Parnell is out of money. A dismal failure at the Marriage Mart, she'd just as soon leave Society far behind. Desperate to earn funds to retire with her grandmother to the country, Lucy disguises herself as a man to gamble in London's hells. But the Earl of Dartford, an Untouchable she never imagined speaking to let alone spending time with, is onto her in a trice. When he insists on acting as her protector, Lucy fears her chance to remain an independent woman is destined to go up in flames.After losing his entire family, Andrew Wentworth, Earl of Dartford built a wall to keep attachments at bay. He believed he could keep Miss Parnell safe without compromising his defenses, but she's exciting and irresistible. Their deepening relationship makes him even more determined to push her away. Nothing will stop him from trying to avoid reliving the anguish of loss. Love is the one risk he doesn't have the heart to dare.