When an invitation arrives for a hunting party in Scotland, Lady Charlotte, Miss Penelope, and Lady Isabel grow excited about the opportunity to ride with their hostess, Penelope’s great-aunt, the renowned equestrienne Lady Adina, Countess of Rathcavan. Lady Adina was using this event to bring these three particular young ladies to Lyden to play Cupid for her grandson and his friends. Laethan …
Laethan Ross Gordon, Earl of Rathcavan, needs a bride. After the explosion at his iron rail-producing mill last spring, his grandmother frequently reminded him that there is no heir. But there was only one lady Laethan wanted as his wife—the Duke of Caversham’s only daughter, Lady Isabel. And as luck would have it, Lady Isabel is best friends with his step-cousin, Penelope.
Lady Isabel Halden was tired of being the focus of the gossip writers in England and was hoping for a few quiet weeks in Scotland. That, and it seemed that each season the men grew more ridiculous and desperate to get her attention. All she wanted was to find a good man to love, someone who would love her in return and not look at her as a debutant with a large dowry and a politically connected family. Bumping into the new earl of Rathcavan at his grandmother’s party proved unnerving. The man was incredibly handsome, and she was attracted to him before she even knew who he was. Discovering his identity gave her hope that the coming weeks might be interesting.
Nathaniel Santiago met Miss Penelope Fenwicke riding in the park early one morning. They spent five weeks falling in love until he suddenly disappeared, sent on a secret assignment in another country. The mission turned into a great tragedy, leaving Nathaniel scarred for life, and his employer minus a leg, but still alive. When Nathaniel returned, he was a hollowed-out shell of a man who needed to work through his troubles before he could be the man Penelope needed. To do this, he was sent to Lyden to work for Lady Adina who had experience helping men in his condition.
Miss Penelope Fenwicke realized going to Lyden for her great-aunt Adina’s birthday hunt meant facing Nathaniel, the man who said he loved her and wanted to marry her before disappearing without a word. When she learned that he was in Scotland and made no effort to contact her, she tried to make herself hate him, while also realizing something wasn’t quite right. She was curious and wanted answers and was grateful that her friends would be with her when she confronted him for the first time since he returned.
Eamon Gowrey wasn’t born a nobleman, but his cousin was. Eamon and Laethan went to university together. When they completed their coursework, they purchased an old foundry and converted it to produce iron rails used by the railroads. While confident in business, he wasn’t in his relationships with women. Until the night he saw a lass so beautiful, and so high above him that he knew to ask her to dance would leave him heartbroken. He gathered his courage and asked Lady Charlotte to partner him in a turn about the floor, and surprisingly she said yes.
Lady Charlotte Brightman had long heard of Lady Adina and her skills with a horse, and Charlotte was thrilled to be invited to ride with her. She’d turned her head and heart to her love for training and riding horses after she’d overheard several young men saying horrible things about her behind her back. And when she met the earl’s cousin, Mr. Gowrey, she thought he was nice to her because their friends were now betrothed. She felt Mr. Gowrey handsome, but she wasn’t really expecting anything to come of their acquaintance. She was proved very wrong the moment he kissed her.
A freak accident brings the ladies’ parents to Lyden, and three grooms then ask for permission to marry from three fathers, and the three brides decide they want to share a wedding day because their love was fated from the moment they each met their husbands.
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