The daughter of a wealthy gentry banker and bright in every sense of the word, Tansy skewered her own reputation to save her younger sister’s and embarked upon a chapter she never could have fathomed. After traveling the world as a companion and being encouraged toward independent thinking, she finds herself now back in the mire of polite society. Well over the bridge into spinsterhood, her family refuses to allow her to live alone. Is the answer to find a man desperate enough to marry her, remain with her parents, or some other, less-obvious option?
Philippa Carrington
The lucky bride in a love match that lasted over ten years, Philippa now finds herself a single mother to two girls and adrift without the steadying influence of her husband. The strictures of society and reality of their circumstances have placed her and her girls back in London, where Pippa will try to find her footing and discover herself anew.
Nikolaas van Lynden
The queer son of a Dutch count exiled into the ostensibly strict hands of his English relatives, Nik is a natural romantic attempting to wrest himself back from the control of addiction. He longs for connection and creativity, but fears this bleak country may provide very little of either.
Hepzibah Innes-Ker
A bluestocking through and through, Her Grace the Duchess of Roxburghe is considered an eccentric by some, and a disgrace by others. Married to her father’s best friend, who rescued her from a life of obscurity and destitution, she’s never had a lover of any kind, including the man she married. He wishes she would find one, thinks it would make her happy in a way Eppie has never fathomed, but with talents that lie more in the realm of science and medicine than social savvy, it remains to be seen if she shall ever catch the eye of someone she can care about in turn.
Augustus Kinkade
The Premier Viscount of England and known rake, Gust Kinkade is a man of contradictions. He is conscientious about his finances and role in Parliament, and kind to his tenants. He also tumbles through beds with aplomb, and has a reputation for carousing. Loyal to a fault, and shy of commitment. A bright and charming light with a dark and troubled history.