Showing results by author "Julie Johnstone" in All Categories

Lady Madelaine Aldridge might be the worst lady-in-waiting to ever grace King George III’s court. An oddball who prefers archery to embroidery and honesty to deception, she earns the dislike of the Queen, the cruelty of the other ladies-in-waiting and the advances of a lecherous scoundrel who wants to seduce her. Her father is threatening an arranged marriage unless she finds a proper husband―a task that seems hopeless until Lord Grey Adlard rides into court.

After years of playing the rake to hide a dark family secret, the Duke of Aversley feels tainted beyond redemption and cynical beyond repair. Never does he imagine hope will come in the form of a quirky, quick-witted lady determined to win the heart of another gentleman. Thanks to a painfully awkward past, Lady Amelia De Vere long ago relinquished the notion she was a flower that had yet to blossom.

Lady Guinevere Darlington has spent the last five years trying to forget the beautiful rogue who stole her heart and then crushed it under his shiny black hessian. Humiliated by the blighter with the unforgettable brogue and left to weather the wagging tongues of the ton alone, she started a secret society that delivers justice to ill-intentioned rakes, and she managed to avoid having to wed - until now. But while her time is up, her determination is not. If she must take a husband, she’ll do so on her own terms.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and no one is more desperate than Highlander Alasdair MacRae. His clan is on the verge of disaster thanks to continuous raids from the lying, thieving, murdering MacKenzies. Their latest strike has left Alasdair’s family on the precipice of starvation, and his brother badly wounded. The time has come to hit back, and what better blow to deliver than to kidnap his enemy’s daughter and use her to negotiate much-needed peace.

Lady Eve Sotherby dreams of escaping her horrid life in England, yet she has nowhere to run. So when she spies a posting for a companion in the Highlands, she seizes the chance to disappear. She’s heard tales about the barbaric Highlanders, of course, but no one can be worse than the beast she once foolishly agreed to wed. And never mind that she doesn’t meet any of the requirements for the position: must have no family, must love the cold, and must know the healing arts.

No one desires retribution against their enemy more than Highlander Cormac MacLean. Yet his foe has the favor of the king, and Cormac lacks irrefutable proof of the man’s nefarious deeds, so revenge must be planned with calculated care. But when Cormac’s hot-headed brother impulsively attempts to kidnap their enemy’s stepsister, Cormac finds himself fleeing with the wounded beauty after she sustains an injury trying to protect him.

In the rugged Highlands, a proud warrior is about to fall. Highlander Brus MacLeod doesn't want the betrothal forced upon him, and he certainly does not intend to take the woman as his wife, no matter who commands it. He has every intention of driving the unexpectedly feisty lass to break the marriage contract and has no plans to let her into his head, bed, or heart. But then the funny, warm slip of a woman invades his home, his life, his soul, and he finds himself unable to forget her, even when she seems to have utterly forgotten him.

Miss Sophia Vane, a hoyden of the first order, makes an unlikely match when she weds Nathaniel Ellison, the rich and wary Duke of Scarsdale. What starts with an unexpected friendship soon blooms into a fiery passion. But a betrayal plunges Sophia into the thorny world of London Society and entangles her in a labyrinth of manipulation and jealousy that will test the strength of her marriage. Behind her husband's sudden icy façade, Sophia believes dwells the caring, passionate man she loves.

For 11 years, Gillian Rutherford has dreamed of escaping her family's dark secret and living a normal life. Now, faced with an unwelcome marriage that will chain her to London and the secret slowly killing her, she's desperate to save herself and the sister she adores. Salvation comes in the form of an American shipping tycoon, and all she must do is seduce him into marrying her. But Gillian's scheme hits a snag when she makes a bargain with a notorious rake Alexander Trevelle, Lord Lionhurst.

Raised by a tyrannical father, Marion de Lacy yearns for the comfort of belonging to a loving family. So when her father announces her betrothal to an evil knight in exchange for his help to overthrow the king, she concocts a desperate scheme to avoid the marriage: feigning her own death and then fleeing England. But when her plan goes terribly awry and she's captured by the knight, not even her careful preparations could ready her for the Scottish barbarian who rescues her and then informs her that he's to marry her.

Free-spirited Lilias Honeyfield has a secret. She’s certain the rich and powerful Duke of Greybourne is meant to be hers. He just needs to reappear in her life and stop denying his love for her before she’s forced to wed another. Though it’s been seven years, she has never forgotten the beautiful but tormented man hiding behind the mask of moody boy, nor does she believe she imagined the searing passion between them. But the day Nash Steele finally reappears in town, the rogue destroys her hope by claiming he never returned her affection.

Dark days have come to medieval Scotland, and fierce warrior Robert the Bruce would do anything to release his country from English rule - and not just because he’s the rightful heir to the Scottish throne. As the bloody war rages on, enemies on both sides of the fight surround him, and Robert must dance a dangerous line between truth and deception. One misstep could topple his nation and cost him his life, yet one woman tempts him - and threatens his mission - as no other ever has.

For a man who has no intention of wedding anytime soon, if ever, Thor MacLeod finds himself submitting to an unwanted marriage in one moment and obliged to hunt down his new wife in the next—all in the name of protecting his family. The task seems simple enough: Find the lass accused of treason who stabbed him and then fled after their vows, return her to his commander, and then have their union dissolved. But nothing is ever simple when it comes to beguiling lasses like the fiery-haired woman he wed.

Fiercely focused Highland warrior Alexander Gordon has one goal—secure a coveted spot on the King’s Night Guard. Being born illegitimate and raised with the constant scorn of his father’s wife, he wants nothing more than a home of his own where he feels like he belongs, and the king’s elite warrior group is the only chance to achieve his dream. He doesn’t intend to let anything or anyone derail him, but then the brave beautiful Adeline Brodie strolls into his life, and the harder he tries to push her away to preserve his honor and dreams, the more it makes him want her.

Callum, the Marquess of Kilgore, long ago accepted that he was no saint. So when he’s offered a shameful bet - to seduce the lady some have dubbed the “Ice Queen” and recover the land he foolishly gambled away - he agrees. Yet, as he comes to know Lady Constantine, he realizes this kind and pure woman deserves far better than a reprobate like himself. Now, he would do anything to protect her from the scandal he helped create, even ruthlessly pushing her away. It seems he hasn’t fallen quite as far into sin as he thought....

Lady Frederica Darlington isn’t prim, obedient, or appropriately dispassionate as a proper lady of the aristocracy should be. Nor is she interested in securing a husband, whether rake, rogue, duke, or lord. Freddy wants to live as she pleases in a place she feels she belongs, and for a unconventional lady, the bohemian world of Covent Garden seems the perfect spot. She has a plan to achieve her goal, but when one of her secret missions goes awry and the King of the Underworld rescues her, danger never looked so enticing.

After being left brokenhearted by a duplicitous rake, Anne Adair no longer desires a husband - she wants justice. She's traded in her foolish dream of happily ever after for the much more sensible one of thwarting the blackhearted lords who prey on innocent debutantes. But her first mission proves rather complicated when the dashing, devilish Duke of Kilmartin comes to the aid of her target.

In order to save the man she loves from the enemy bent on destroying her, Lady Whitney Rutherford sheds her identity and escapes her past, making a new life for herself as Mr. Roger Wentworth, missing person locator extraordinaire. But when Whitney's best friend from her old life comes up missing and there is every indication the girl was taken by the debauched members of a secret club, Whitney dons a new disguise and infiltrates the club, determined to unravel the mystery and save her friend.

A bargain born of desperation ignites into passion as one lord's quest to save his family leads to the discovery that he can never settle for less than love. Forsaken, abandoned, and duped, Miss Jemma Adair has no other recourse but to request her grandfather's help to avoid living on the streets. His asking price? She must marry a neighboring lord's odious son. Thankfully, there is a way out of her dilemma - ensuring the rake never asks for her hand.

Legendary warrior Lachlan MacLeod has never encountered anything or anyone he could not conquer. But when his younger brother confesses his love for Bridgette MacLean - the only woman Lachlan has ever wanted - Lachlan turns away from the beautiful Scottish lass, vowing to be no more than her friend. Yet his need for Bridgette enslaves him and may well prove to be the one thing he cannot defeat.