Miss Daisy Swan was not pretty. In the unlikely event that there was any doubt, her peers—fellow children of Manhattan’s four hundred finest families—took it upon themselves to point out that hers was not a face that would launch one ship, let alone a thousand. Her nose was a trifle too large, her eyes a […]

There was only one man in England whom Lady Claire Cavendish wished to meet. Only one man whom she thought it worth crossing an ocean for, sight unseen. Only one man who possessed a brain like hers, with a gift for numbers, and presumably the only man who would find a brain and talent like […]

My dear Miss Green, I write to you with the most shocking news. Though the ton said I was mad to seek Durham’s long-lost heir rather than simply hand the estate off to the odious Mr. Collins, it seems I shall soon be vindicated. It is quite the story, one best related in person over […]

His Grace, Brandon Alexander Fiennes, the Duke of Kingston, had the good fortune to inherit a prestigious title, exceedingly good looks, and an impressive though impoverished estate. One might think this was enough, but in an ever-changing world, it was not. He also required a fortune. And for that, he needed a woman. “The dukedom […]

New York City, 1879 One West Thirty-Fourth Street The duke was at the door. His Grace, the Duke of Montrose, had come calling at the Goodwin residence, all the way from Ye Olde England, on the hunt for an heiress to marry as dukes were wont to do these days. But young Beatrice Goodwin only […]

Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England June 1822 If she is to marry, a woman must have a dowry and a groom of her own. At an exquisitely inconvenient moment, Miss Sophie Harlow discovered one essential prerequisite was deserting her. To be jilted at the altar is the sort of thing that happens to someone’s cousin’s friend’s sister; […]