Lady Graceless: A Regency Historical Romance (A Senseless Complications)

He's shipwrecked himself on a beach. She happens to be standing on that beach. A beginning that dreams are made of, had he not a cousin who wants his title.

The Duke of Pelham is once more poised to bring the Nicolets to London and assault society once more. He's got seven daughters to get rid of, and now he's on to number two. Lady Grace Nicolet will make her debut. Unfortunately, she has the unique ability to find herself on the floor at the most awkward moments. She lives in terror that people will notice her clumsiness and make a joke of her name.

As the Nicolets set off from the Yorkshire Dales, the duke has the idea to meander to the coast so his girls might get their first glimpse of the sea. On arrival, they get more of a view than they'd anticipated. Miles Delatore, Viscount Dashlend, eldest son of the Earl of Gravesend, has spent two days adrift in his sloop and has just washed up on the beach. A duke's daughter on her way to Town to find her husband encounters the heir to an earldom? They find each other wildly attractive and exceedingly genial? There is every reason in the world that a match should proceed.

Of course, it would, if it were not for a certain Baron Montclave. That fellow will become the Earl of Gravesend's heir-if Dashlend dies before producing an issue. Thus far, it has seemed a likely eventuality, as Dashlend has been busy putting his life in danger in every conceivable manner. Montclave's hopes had leapt to the sky when his cousin was reported lost at sea. But then, Dashlend did not stay lost.

Is Montclave to sit back and simply watch his future fade away?

A determined lord, a dizzy lady, and a desperate climber take the ton on another unnecessarily fraught ride through London's season.

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade's Sweet Dreams line, so this is a sweet, wholesome Historical Romance where passion beyond the bedroom door is left to the reader's imagination.

A Series of Senseless Complications

Book 1: Lady Ferocity

Book 2: Lady Graceless

Book 3: Lady Impatience

Book 4: Lady Dramatic

Book 5: Lady Liar

Book 6: Lady Suspicious

Book 7: Lady Fearful

By the time I was eleven, my Irish Nana and I had formed a book club of sorts. On a timetable only known to herself, Nana would grab her blackthorn walking stick and steam down to the local Woolworth's. There, she would buy the latest Barbara Cartland romance, hurry home to read it accompanied by viciously strong wine, (Wild Irish Rose, if you're wondering) and then pass the book on to me. Though I was not particularly interested in real boys yet, I was very interested in the gentlemen in those stories-daring, bold, and often enraging and unaccountable. After my Barbara Cartland phase, I went on to Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen and so many other gifted authors blessed with the ability to bring the Georgian and Regency eras to life.I would like nothing more than to time travel back to the Regency (and time travel back to my twenties as long as we're going somewhere) to take my chances at a ball. Who would take the first? Who would escort me into supper? What sort of meaningful looks would be exchanged? I would hope, having made the trip, to encounter a gentleman who would give me a very hard time. He ought to be vexatious in the extreme, and worth every vexation, to make the journey worthwhile.I most likely won't be able to work out the time travel gambit, so I will content myself with writing stories of adventure and romance in my beloved time period. There are lives to be created, marvelous gowns to wear, jewels to don, instant attractions that inevitably come with a difficulty, and hearts to break before putting them back together again. In traditional Regency fashion, the action happens in a drawing room, rather than a bedroom.As I muse over what will happen next to my H and h, and wish I were there with them, I will occasionally remind myself that it's also nice to have a microwave, Netflix, cheese popcorn, and steaming hot showers.